An immature bald eagle found injured in Onset on Election Day was euthanized after veterinarians determined that it had been shot and could not survive.

Although the bald eagle was removed from the Endangered Species list in 2007, the shooting of an eagle is a federal crime under both the Migratory Bird Treaty and the Bald and Golden Eagle Act, and a joint investigation of the United States Fish and Wildlife and the Massachusetts Environmental Police is offering a $2,500 award for information that leads to a conviction.

"We have no idea on the motive," said Christopher Folan of the Massachusetts Environmental Police.  "We're kind of hoping that someone might have some information and be able to shed some light on it."

The maximum penalty for the felony is a $100,000 fine and one year in prison, said Fish and Wildlife spokesman Bill Butcher.

Onset resident Dick Wheeler, who found the bird at Shell Pointe while walking his dog, said he was "devastated" by the news...having formed a special connection with E Pluribird Unum, when it speared him with a talon as he brought the injured raptor home while he called wildlife officials.

He was lobbying French to have the bird brought back to Onset for its first appearance after it had finished rehabilitating at Tufts Veterinary School, where it was rushed after being found.

French said that the bird had most likely shot while perching, as the bullet shattered the bird's wing as well as its hip, preventing it from being able to stand up or fly.

It was the last of several injuries that the one-year-old eagle appeared to have suffered in its brief life.  French said that the bird was blind in its left eye, it showed evidence of a broken sternum, or breastbone, that had healed, and one of the bird's talons was completely cut off, an injury that French had never seen on a raptor.

"It cut through right at the base of the claw, I don't know what could have done that" said French.  "A lot of muscle would have been required."

Due to the extent of the bird's wounds, French estimated that the bird had been shot very close to Shell Pointe, where it was found.

The bird had no bands identifying it as from monitored nests in Southeast Massachusetts.  French said, however, that it was possibly a resident bird, as there are suspected to be two nests in southern Plymouth County that officials have not yet located.

If you have any information about the incident, contact special agent Lee Schneckenberger of the US Fish and Wildlife Service at 401-364-9124, or the Mass. Environmental Police at 1-800-632-8075.