GARDEN CITY -Lee Richardson Zoo staff is mourning the passing of Buddy the bald eagle.

One of the zoo’s oldest residents, Buddy was 30 years old when she died on Monday, according to a social media report.

The median life expectancy for bald eagles is 16.5 years.

On Sunday animal care staff found Buddy in her pond with her talon in her disabled wing. Already under veterinary care, staff worked together diligently to help her through this additional health challenge.

“She appeared to be doing better. She was eating, drinking and moving around her habitat like usual but then she went downhill fast,” according to General Curator Jordan Piha.

The results of the necropsy performed Tuesday pointed to an infection as the primary cause of death.

Buddy came to the zoo in 1986 after being found in a lake in Alaska with a broken wing. Due to her injury she was declared non-releasable and found a new home in Garden City where she helped many visitors learn about birds of prey.