Two bald eagles were recently rescued after being found coated in an unknown contaminate.
The first eagle was found rescued in Alert Bay on Sunday, May 28. An Alert Bay resident spotted the eagle struggling to swim towards the shore.
With a net and a dingy, the resident and a few others who were nearby at the time were able to rescue the eagle from the water.
Reg Westcott, Supervisor of Wildlife Care at Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS), which is a non-profit organization that rescues and rehabilitates birds and other wildlife, tended to the bird once it arrived in their care. “It was flat and not active, he must have been suffering from exhaustion and hypothermia,” said Westcott.
“We could see the shine coming off the feathers,” said Westcott, who added the bird was covered in an unknown contaminate. “We don’t have the time or money to have it chemically analyzed.”
MARS was able to clean and release the first eagle back into the wild four days later.
Ray Windsor, the communications director for MARS, said the eagle needed to be bathed “four or five times before it was released.”
The second eagle arrived at MARS on Wednesday, June 7. It was found on Malcolm Island at Bere Point Campground. “A young German couple found the eagle and brought it to the hotel,” said Robin Smith, who works at the Ocean Front Hotel. Smith helped organize sending the eagle to a veteranarian in Port Hardy. They kept the eagle overnight “and then we made arrangements for it to go to MARS,” said Smith.
Smith added the eagle didn’t seem to be injured, but was very docile. “There had to be something wrong with it, but it wasn’t obvious to us,” Smith said.
The staff at MARS said the second eagle arrived at the MARS Wildlife Hospital, which is north of Courtenay, with shiny feathers.
“From the smell of it and the texture, it seems to be a similar contaminate,” said Wescott. However, he added MARS’ goal is to rehabilitate the animals rather than determine the source of the contaminate.
“We do our due diligence to report it to conservation,” said Westcott, who confirmed they have reported the incidents to the North Island Conservation Officer.
The second eagle will be released back on Malcolm Island at Bere Point Campground once it’s been cleaned from the contaminate. “She’s going to start the first of her many baths,” said Westcott.
To find out more about MARS and wildlife rescue, check out their website at http://www.marswildliferescue.com/.
- Hanna Petersen article.