Golden eagle soars again after serious injury, 9-month recovery at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

ST. GEORGE — A golden eagle took flight just seconds after release, soaring above red cliffs and those who cared for him for nine months after he was found lying on the roadside.

After nine months of rehabilitation and care at Best Friends Animal Society’s Wild Friends in Kanab, Utah, this Golden Eagle was released back into the wild, Gunsight Point, AZ, Nov. 19, 2022 | Photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society, St. George News

Originally found grounded on a roadside in Arizona on Feb. 28, the raptor had sustained an injury and was taken to Wild Friends in critical condition, according to a news release issued by Best Friends Animal Society.

Wild Friends is a wildlife rehabilitation program located at the Best Friend Animal Sanctuary.

The eagle’s X-rays showed that his crop, “a thin-walled pouch connected to the esophagus,” was full of an unknown material, the release states. Wild Friends staff stabilized the eagle enough to allow on-site veterinarians to perform emergency surgery.

The bird’s crop was “severely distended,” and at first, Lauren Ross, a Wild Friends lifesaving and care specialist, thought he had been hit by a car. Instead, they found an “entire jack rabbit in his crop that was just not moving through his system.”

While gastrointestinal stasis, where food either doesn’t move through the digestive system or does so slowly, is not a common symptom of lead poisoning, Ross said that it is a possible indicator. This prompted Wild Friends staff to begin lead poisoning protocols. They later confirmed the diagnosis.

After the anesthesia from his surgery wore off, the eagle was bright and alert, Kanab, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society, St. George News

One way raptors, like eagles or condors, get lead poisoning is by scavenging animal remains left behind by hunters, Ross said. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has been encouraging hunters to switch to copper bullets to support condor conservation, but the effort also benefits other species, like golden eagles and turkey vultures, as well.

The center hadn’t cared for many eagles before and some they’d seen with lead poisoning were “already too damaged for us to save,” Ross said.

“And he was just fading really quickly,” she said. “So I was worried that he wasn’t going to make it through the night.”

The eagle underwent a second surgery after his crop came through the stitches, resulting in over a month in intensive care, the release states.

He remained at Wild Friends for nine months and Ross worked with him often during that time. She said the eagle wasn’t “really mean” as some people might expect and that squirrels and other animals could be scarier to work with.

“Golden eagles can be kind of babies in care,” she said.

Because the eagle’s flight muscles atrophied while in intensive care, he required several months of training in the 100-foot bird flight building before he could be released into his natural habitat, according to the release.

The raptor wasn’t “really trying to fly,” Ross said, and the staff had to “push him.” They ran after him and chased him to encourage him to fly as much as he could before tiring.

Lifesaving and care specialist at Wild Friends, Lauren Ross can be seen here with the eagle as he recovered, Kanab, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society, St. George News

“It was a slow process getting him to where he could fly,” she said. “And I just remember walking into the flight one day and he was on the highest perch he could be, and we took pictures.”

When they began, the raptor could fly one or two laps, according to the news release. But he was able to sustain flight for eight laps with no breaks by the time of his release.

Best Friends collaborated with Arizona Fish and Game to choose a release site, according to the release. They settled on Gunsight Point, located approximately 30 miles outside of Fredonia, Arizona. The eagle was released Nov. 19.

The eagle was flying within seven seconds of release, Ross said. And while released animals typically leave quickly and hide, the eagle “just soared.”

“I think we watched him for 20 minutes just soaring around us,” she said. “That was just absolutely beautiful because you could almost feel – I don’t want to anthropomorphize … but you can almost feel the relief and happiness of just the open space and being free after being in a cage.”

Ross said it was an “incredible experience.”

“Rehab is hard,” she said. “I have a lot of losses and so I felt like, in that moment, every grief and every frustration – they lead to positive outcomes like this one. They make it worth it.”

Encountering an injured animal on the road

Should an individual encounter injured wildlife on the road, Wild Friends suggests calling the closest wildlife rehabilitation center for assistance “in real-time, if possible,” according to the release.

A pair of juvenile squirrels being cared for at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Kanab, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Best Friends Animal Society, St. George News

Wildlife centers provide a 48-hour grace period before seizing wildlife and charging those who kept them, as doing so is “not just dangerous, it’s illegal,” the release states, adding that consequences could include a fine or jail time.

Some facilities have after-hour numbers, but those near centers who do not can call Wild Friends 24/7 at 559-633-9453 for assistance with transporting an animal or finding a center. If an animal appears dangerous or is in a precarious position, individuals should call their local Department of Wildlife Resouces Department.

“Most rehab centers will ask that you have an animal contained, so it would help if you can get the animal in a box for transport, using either a large net or a towel – whatever you have on hand,” the release adds. “Take extra care around the beak and feet.”

Those who find an injured animal should stay with it and prevent it from leaving the scene or encountering other animals, the release states.

Find a nearby wildlife rehabilitation facility at this website. Find more online about Wild Friends, its wildlife facilities and the “many species of adoptable animals in search of loving homes” housed there, such as ducks, chickens, reptiles and small mammals, the release states.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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