PATIENT:  Bald Eagle, #10-2255

LOCATION OF RESCUE:  Lousia County, Virginia

CAUSE OF ADMISSION:   Lead toxicity

ADMISSION DATE:  December 11, 2010

OUTCOME:  Died December 12

On Saturday, December 11, a Bald Eagle was found down in the woods near Zions Crossroads in Louisa County.   The rescuer was able to scoop up the lethargic bird in his jacket and met up with Wildlife Center vet students to transport the bird back to Waynesboro.

Upon admission, the eagle was laying down in its crate and was very quiet.  Dr. Kelly Flaminio performed a physical exam and found the bird to be thin and shocky.  Blood was taken to test for lead; the results came back positive.   

Dr. Kelly immediately started chelation therapy– administering a medication that will remove the lead from the bird’s body.  Unfortunately, when the bird was checked on early Sunday morning, it was found dead.  Dr. Kelly and team performed post-mortem radiographs on the bird.  No lead shot was found, indicating that the pellets had likely already traveled through the gastrointestinal tract.  The bird had many other internal injuries that were found upon necropsy; it’s unknown at this point what the cause of those injuries could be.

The Center depends on the donations of caring individuals to provide veterinary care to wildlife and training in wildlife veterinary medicine.  Please help!