A Golden Eagle was released after successfully being rehabilitated by Wild Friends at Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah.
The eagle was released back into the wild near where he was originally found in Arizona.
The eagle had sustained an injury earlier this year and had been grounded when he was rescued.
He was brought back to Wild Friends in critical condition but the team was able to stabilize the bird enough for the onsite veterinarians to perform emergency surgery.
They discovered through an X-ray that there was an unknown material stuffed in his crop, a thin-walled pouch connected to the esophagus.
The poor bird was also treated for symptoms of lead poisoning.
Through some more difficulties, the eagle stayed in intensive care for over a month.
Unfortunately, since he had been immobile for so long, once he was better, he was not strong enough to return to the wild. The team at Best Friends worked to train the bird and get his strength back up.
At first, the eagle was only able to do one or two laps inside the 100-foot bird flight building. By the end of his time in rehabilitation, he could fly between even higher perches for eight laps with no breaks.
When he was ready, Best Friends contacted Arizona Fish and Game, who helped with the spectacular release of the eagle.
He was so happy to be back he “majestically soared before disappearing into the red rock cliffs,” the Best Friends Animal Society said.
This article by Hailey Kanowsky was first published by OneGreenPlanet on 7 December 2022.
What you can do
Support ‘Fighting for Wildlife’ by donating as little as $1 – It only takes a minute. Thank you.
Fighting for Wildlife supports approved wildlife conservation organizations, which spend at least 80 percent of the money they raise on actual fieldwork, rather than administration and fundraising. When making a donation you can designate for which type of initiative it should be used – wildlife, oceans, forests or climate.
Leave a Reply