A young bald eagle from the Salmon Arm area is recovering after she hurt herself while trying to fly.
As the bird tried to take to the sky, she impaled her wing on a tree branch, said Tracey Reynolds, animal care manager at Kamloops’ Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre.
The bird is estimated to be six to eight weeks old, she added.
The wildlife health centre received a call about the bird on July 30 but could not save her from the 20-metre tree, Reynolds said.
However, someone managed to climb the tree and retrieve the injured eagle, she said.
“Overall the eagle was a healthy eagle, but she had a very large injury, and she had been hanging there for several hours,” Reynolds said.
The size of the hole through the eagle’s wing was about the size of a mandarin orange, she added.
“Luckily, it didn’t actually affect any of her bones or ligaments at this time that we can see,” she said.
The hole has been stitched up, and the eagle is currently on antibiotics, Reynolds said.
The bird will have to learn how to fly again but isn’t expected to return to the wild for at least a month, she added.
“She will be released back in the same area,” Reynolds said.
“I would imagine her parents are still there, so I would hope if they do release her they would still be in the family group.”
— CFJC NEWS