Set to fly again
Bald eagle found with injured wing gets help at wildlife hospital.
A rescue effort that began outside Boynton Beach was continuing in Fort Lauderdale on Friday where an American bald eagle found in obvious distress is being treated.
The eagle is at the South Florida Wildlife Center, where it was found to have a soft tissue injury on its right elbow that is likely “trauma-related,” according to center officials.
“The eagle was found by a private citizen in Palm Beach County, on the ground and unable to fly,” said Debra ParsonsDrake, executive director of the South Florida Wildlife Center.
The discovery was made on Monday in the area of 96th Court South in West Boynton. The man who found the bird called the center and a wildlife rescuer brought it to Fort Lauderdale shortly before 4 p.m., Parsons-Drake said.
Officials don’t know how the eagle’s wing got hurt, but the male bird appears otherwise healthy.
“He has a good body condition and weight and is eating very well on his own,” said staff veterinarian Dr. Amanda Grant.
The eagle is being treated with anti-inflammatory medication and soft tissue laser treatment — processes that will continue until the bird is healed.
The wildlife center, an affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States, treats thousands of animals, but eagles are rarely among them.
The center sees more than 12,000 animals representing about 250 species annually, officials said. But during the past 10 years it has only treated five other American bald eagles.
“Although bald eagles have been removed from the national endangered species list, they are still rarely seen in South Florida and in most of the country,” said Deborah Robbins Millman, the wildlife center’s director of outreach.
It’s believed Florida is home to about 1,500 nesting pairs of bald eagles, she said.