ROSEVILLE — Roseville Veterinary Clinic is used to treating dogs and cats and farm animals, but what happens when a bald eagle needs help?
This Tuesday a man walked in the door carrying a bald eagle wrapped in a sweatshirt.
“I just stood there and said, ‘Uh ... ah ... ummm. ... I don’t think we can take it because we are not a national wildlife clinic,’ ” employee Alex Huston said. “I wasn’t sure just what I should do. He told me he found it alongside the highway and thought he should take it to the nearest vet. That was us.”
But the man was adamant. He had to leave so he handed Huston the bird and took off.
Huston hesitantly took the bird into the back room to examine him.
“I was terrified,” she said. “I was shaking the whole time because at any time he might take off.”
She wore protective gloves and special glasses as a precaution.
“I picked him up off his back, but then his wings started to move,” she said. “I could feel their strength, so I set him back down quickly.”
She said the eagle seemed pretty calm. It did not make any noise, but its eyes followed her everywhere she went. He worked his way out of the sweatshirt he was wrapped in, and he was very wobbly.
“We didn’t see any wounds. It is very probable that he has lead poisoning,” Huston said. “Since he is a bird of prey, he could have eaten an animal that had been shot and gotten the lead in his system. They will know better when they examine him in a wildlife center.”
The Roseville Clinic is not prepared to handle national wildlife. Staff made many calls, but transportation was an issue. A local man, Dan Porter from Western Illinois Animal Rescue, finally made a contact that would help the bird.
He called Tammy Hanley of Hopedale, who takes damaged wildlife into her home. She said if they could get the eagle to her, she would take it from there. Larry Powell was able to take the eagle to Farmington where Hanley met him and took over.
Hanley kept the bird overnight but contacted the Illinois Raptor Center in Decatur for further treatment.
At the center they determined the bird has lead toxicity. There was no evidence of the lead in his digestive system; it had spread into his body. He could not stand, his head tilted to the side, and he was having seizures. They will keep the bird there until he has stabilized and passed the lead out of his system.
Then they will send the bird to the University of Illinois where staff will determine if or when he can be released back into the wild.
They named the bird Marahute.
They will bring Marahute back to Warren County for release, but there is no way to know exactly when that will occur.
Huston described the ordeal as “terrifying.” But upon reflection she said, “It was overwhelming but also a little like being on cloud 9 because I was in a position to help such a beautiful, powerful creature.”
