This is the juvenile Bald Eagle that I have a video of a couple months ago, on the day he was brought to our hospital, and I helped with the intake exam. He is in better shape now, than at intake, but he suffers from air sacculitis. So we took him out of the big flight cage and put him into a smaller one so we can administer medications. Air sacculitis is a respiratory infection of the air sacs in his body cavity. A couple days ago our doc performed an endoscopy on him, and now he is getting antibiotics and some other meds. Hes not in critical condition, but it can be a bit painful for him. The treatments should clear this up. But he needs rest and a low stress environment, so Im being extra careful to not excite him as I bring his food and meds. As you can see, he has been fitted with a transponder on his back. It is very light weight, and the harness is fitted well to his body. Once he is released, it will give us much needed data regarding how well our released eagles do once back in the wild. The battery he will carry has a relatively short lifespan, so the harness is made of a biodegradable material that will eventually fall off as it gets degraded by the sun and rain. This eagle is less than a year old, so he is still all brown. He wont get his full white head and tail, and bright yellow beak, for another 4 years. Today I got a rare opportunity to get up close to him, as the cage is somewhat small. And he is very calm. But the meds should take effect soon, and well put him back in the 100 long flight cage, once he feels up to flying again and is breathing easier. Hes quite a beauty!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 01:12:49 +0000