Photo by choofly.

It was only a matter of time until we got some bad news from the National Zoo, after so many months of wallowing in the warm fuzzies that come with cuddly babies: the Post reports that Sam, a female bald eagle who had lived at the Zoo for nearly seven years, was euthanized on New Year’s Eve. The animal was put down after she was found unresponsive in her habitat on December 28 and didn’t respond to veterinary treatment. Sam was believed to be more than 30 years old; the Zoo isn’t totally sure of her age because she was brought into captivity from the Alaskan wild after being shot in 1986. 30 years appears to be on the high end of a bald eagle’s lifespan in the wild, though they have been known to live into their late 40s at zoos.