One of nature’s most majestic creatures was the centre of attention for commuters traveling on Highway 91 this week after a massive bald eagle was hit by a car and left unable to fly.
Volunteers with the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, O.W.L., came to the rescue , and used a giant net to capture the big bird in Delta on Christmas Day.
The eagle appears to have a broken wing, but rehab staff hope it will survive it’s injuries.
“My assumption would be a broken wing because when it was trying to fly away it wasn’t doing much,” says Todd Bowling with O.W.L. “It was just flapping, which is a main key that most likely something’s probably wrong with the wing. Which for these guys, when they get hit by cars it’s usually mainly a broken wing.”
This injured bird is actually the 432nd eagle to be rescued by O.W.L. this year. Thousands of bald eagles descent on the Lower Mainland every winter, but a growing number of these majestic birds are getting injured in accidents or animal attacks.
But there is a simple way to keep them off the roads.
“People who throw their apple cores out the window, that’s what attracts roadkill, that’s what attracted this eagle to the side of the road, and that’s why he got hit by a car,” says Martina Versteeg, bird care specialist.
Staff are optimistic this eagle will recover in a couple of weeks. They hope to release him back into the wild just in time for mating season.
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