Several environmental groups are calling for a federal investigation into the killing of a Laysan albatross on Oahu’s North Shore.

The female Laysan albatross, known as Ho‘okipa, was found in December entangled in an iron fence, unable to return to the egg it had been incubating.

Maxx Phillips, Hawaii director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said a post-mortem exam found that the bird had died of blunt-force trauma, with bleeding in the brain typical for birds hit on the head by large objects.

The Laysan albatross, or moli, is a seabird indigenous to Hawaii. It is not listed as endangered, but is protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, enforced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Center for Biological Diversity, along with the Ko‘olau Waialua Alliance, Malama Marconi Coalition and the Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, are calling on USFWS to investigate the Dec. 2 death as a likely violation of the act and to take full enforcement action such as levying fines.

“When I first heard of this from the center, my heart dropped because we’ve been here before,” said Phillips. “There’s more that needs to be done so that these types of atrocious, cruel acts are adequately punished. The state needs to bring stringent punishments under Hawaii statutes. The USFWS needs to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty.”

She added that the “grotesque killing” could have been prevented and that state and federal agencies should take enforcement action and send a clear message that cruelty will not be tolerated.

Fish and Wildlife officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Center for Biological Diversity officials also expressed concerned about the impact of the iron fence on the Marconi Condominiums property on the North Shore. They say the fence was built without required special management area permits.

Wildlife advocates say the Marconi Development is associated with a “long list of violations that negatively affected protected species” and that these have resulted in the previous injuries and deaths of several migratory birds.

“For more than 15 years the community has watched with great sadness as the negative impacts of unpermitted habitat clearing and construction on the historic Marconi property have increased,” Lynell DaMate of the Ko‘olau Waialua Alliance said in a statement. “Nesting turtles, Laysan albatross, monk seals, yellow-faced bees, native plants and the coast itself have federal, state and local laws in place to protect them. In addition to numerous houses and roads, six huge warehouses now stand on dozens of acres where trees were burned and wetlands filled without regard for biological, cultural or historical resources.”

The groups also called on the Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize rules it promised over two years ago that would provide guidelines for developers. These rules, they said, might have prevented fence construction where albatrosses are nesting.

Human disturbance and conflict are among the primary threats to the seabirds, according to wildlife officials, along with introduced predators and climate change.

In 2015 the state Department of Land and Natural Resources found a number of dead or missing albatrosses and destroyed nests and eggs at Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve. Following investigations, it was determined that three former Punahou School students participated in the mass slaying.

“We’re seeing history repeat itself a little bit,” said Phillips. “It highlights even more the need for our state and federal agencies to step up to the plate and ensure these kinds of acts, that these bad actors, are punished for something so egregious.”