EXHAUSTED EAGLE: A badly beaten up eagle was found far out in the woods by Theodosia Inlet. After some consideration, the hiker took six inches from his hiking boot laces and tied the eagle’s legs together. He then cut as much as he needed from the toe of his hiking sock to cover the eagle’s head.
With an outraged but now defenceless eagle held securely, they both began the long trek out. Arriving at his car, he rigged a plastic-type box from tree planting into an eagle cage and placed the eagle inside.
It was late when he got home, so he put the eagle in a kennel for the night and in the morning he called Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society.
PROWLS president Merrilee Prior was expecting them and had an eagle-sized cage ready. She had also contacted Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL), the raptor specialists in Delta, and booked a passage on the next Pacific Coastal Airlines flight to Vancouver.
The eagle was soon on its way. Even though it was exhausted, the eagle initially struggled desperately to get out of the cage but settled down during the flight.
After being checked over, OWL staff reported that besides looking very ratty because of all the feathers lost, and having a damaged leg, they expect she will return to the qathet area. She had obviously been in a fight to the death, a frequent event in an eagle’s life.
For now she will be kept in a small inside space for observation before moving up the ladder of care and rehabilitation.
