On October 14, an adult Bald Eagle was found grounded at a landfill in Dublin, Virginia. The finder did not see any obvious injuries but noticed that the eagle could not fly and contacted Giles County Animal Control. An animal control officer responded to the scene, contained the eagle, and transported the bird to the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center, where it received initial treatment. The eagle was transferred to the Wildlife Center of Virginia the next morning.
On admission, the eagle was bright and alert. Dr. Marit, one of the Center's veterinary interns, examined the bird and found that it was mildly dehydrated and had a small corneal ulcer in its left eye. No other injuries were found, and radiographs did not show any internal trauma. Blood work, however, revealed the likely cause of the eagle's inability to fly—the bird had a subclinical lead level of 0.14 ppm lead in its system. Though technically a low level, even this small amount of lead is capable of causing severe health issues for eagles and other raptors, including incoordination, lethargy, difficulty taking flight, and eventually death. The eagle may have been at the landfill scavenging food because it was feeling the effects of lead toxicosis, and the landfill presented an easy source of food for the weakened bird.
After the exam, Dr. Marit administered fluids and started the eagle on a course of antibiotic eye drops, anti-inflammatories, and began chelation therapy to remove the lead from its system. The eagle was placed in the Center's indoor holding area where veterinary staff could closely monitor the bird and provide frequent treatments.
After one week of treatment, the eagle's corneal ulcer had resolved and chelation therapy was successful in removing the lead from its system. On October 25, the rehabilitation team moved the eagle to the Center's A3 flight pen, where it will soon undergo flight conditioning. The eagle's prognosis remains guarded.
