Wildlife officials say an adult loon was found dead from a gunshot wound in a New Hampshire lake over the summer.
WMUR-TV reports the Loon Preservation Committee announced the loon was discovered by a construction crew working at a lakefront property on Bradley Lake in Andover on Aug. 28.
The animal was collected by a New Hampshire Fish and Game officer and then transferred to the committee.
The news station reports a necropsy performed at Tufts University in October confirmed that trauma from a gunshot wound was the cause of death. An initial radiograph at an animal hospital showed the animal was wounded on the right wing.
Loons are a threatened species in New Hampshire and are protected by state and federal laws from hunting or harassment.
