For Toucan Sam, stop using lead tackle, ammo

The release earlier this month of Toucan Sam — a bald eagle that survived a near-fatal case of lead poisoning — is a heart-warming story of endurance.

Toucan Sam was found a year ago at Navajo Lake, so weakened by lead poisoning he could not fly. The lead content in his system was too high to measure. The machine used to assess lead in a system can quantify more than triple the amount of lead considered dangerous.

The eagle’s survival is miraculous, say caregivers at the Santa Fe Raptor Center in El Rito, where Toucan Sam was treated.

It’s also a cautionary tale, one more example of human activity causing havoc in the wild. In this case, the eagle likely ate a fish that had swallowed a lead sinker. Other birds and animals are poisoned by fishing tackle or spent ammunition.

Toxic lead has been found in the bones of 46% of bald and golden eagles sampled in 38 states, according to a report in the journal Science. For the bald eagle, back from the brink of extinction, the widespread presence of lead is beyond concerning. This is a bird, remember, nearly wiped out because of the pesticide DDT. After it was banned, the bald eagle recovered and was removed from the Endangered Species List in 2007.

Toucan Sam also has defied the odds, beating back the affects of lead, a neurotoxin, on his system. Ingested, lead hampers an eagle’s ability to fly, hunt or breed. It kills.

To save Toucan Sam, caregivers gave the bird six months of chelation therapy to remove the lead from his system, drawing the lead from his bones. From the bones, the lead seeped into the blood, requiring additional chelation. And so on. Because of lead in his brain, Toucan Sam went blind five times during his treatment. An herbal diet helped him cleanse his liver. Eventually, the toxin was cleared.

Even with the lead purged, Toucan Sam needed an additional six months to recover. But released in early March, the bird took to the sky. He will be migrating to Alaska from Navajo Lake with other eagles — a testament to perseverance and, perhaps, the circle of life.

His tale inspires, but inspiration should create action to reduce harm. Humans can and should stop poisoning wild birds and animals with lead. The raptor center treats four to six eagles a year, an outsized number for our area.

Some wildlife advocates want an outright ban on lead ammunition and fishing tackle. An Obama-era rule phasing out lead ammunition and tackle on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands by 2022 was rescinded in the Trump era. President Joe Biden’s administration started the process to begin banning lead in refuges last summer, a welcome step.

That, of course, has caused outrage from some sportsman’s groups that seem to equate losing lead bullets to having their guns confiscated.

Another approach — one that can happen immediately — is for outdoor sports enthusiasts voluntarily to use bullets or tackle made from non-toxic materials. Tungsten and copper, both nontoxic metals, are available and can be more effective than lead — they don’t fragment as much. Lovers of fishing can buy lead-free tackle.

Important to remember: There are no safe levels of exposure to lead.

Anglers and hunters can make the switch right now, regardless of laws or regulations. That would leave Toucan Sam and other at risk birds and animals to go about their lives in less danger of lead poisoning. Toucan Sam deserves no less.