Lead-poisoned loons: The horror
Loons who ingest lead fishing tackle face a horrific ordeal that almost always ends in death. Once a loon is poisoned by a lead split shot or jig, its chances of being cured at a wildlife rehabilitation center are slim. In most cases the only “remedy” is euthanasia.
As they feed, loons take in pebbles that pass to their gizzard to help grind up and digest the fish they eat. They sometimes pick up lead sinkers or jigs from the lake bottom. At other times they eat fish that have swallowed lead tackle. Loons commonly eat fish up to 10 inches long, but they occasionally eat much larger fish. According to the Loon Preservation Committee in New Hampshire, “If these large fish have ingested tackle and are trailing a broken line, they are not able to swim as well as unimpaired fish and are easy prey for loons. The loons then ingest the tackle, which may be a large jig, as well as the fish.
Regardless how the lead is ingested, the effect is fatal. The acid and grinding action in the gizzard dissolve some of the lead, which passes into the bloodstream, organs and the nervous system. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources describes the agonizing process by which the lead causes death: “A loon with lead poisoning behaves strangely. It may fly poorly, have crash landings or stagger onto the ground. The loon begins to gasp, tremble, and its wings droop as lead is carried through its bloodstream. As the poisoning worsens, it eats very little and hides among aquatic vegetation, staying behind when other birds migrate. It becomes emaciated and often dies within two or three weeks after swallowing the lead jig or sinker.”
Even the smallest sinker will deliver a lethal dose of lead. Most often, a poisoned loon will elude capture until it is so weakened that it becomes largely immobile. By that time the lead in its blood has reached a fatal level. All this suffering can be avoided if anglers switch, wherever possible, to nontoxic tackle in place of lead. (Photo by Linda Grenzer)