Current Patients

Bald Eagle #22-3464 has remained in the A2 flight pen during the past four weeks, slowly regaining her physical strength during regular flight conditioning and exercise. On August 29, rehabilitation staff reported that the eagle’s stamina during flight had definitively improved and that the bird was able to complete between 8-11 passes of the enclosure while maintaining better altitude. A wing droop was occasionally noted near the end of the eagle's exercise regimen, but Rehabilitation Team Lead McKenzie suspects this to be a result of physical exhaustion rather than injury.

For the past month two months, Bald Eagle #22-3464 has continued to recover in the Center’s A3 flight pen, eating well and gaining weight. The veterinary and rehab team have been regularly checking the eagle’s left wing flight feathers and monitoring the bandaging on the bird’s carpal bumpers daily to make sure they are clean, dry, and intact. On June 21, the veterinary team prescribed a daily dose anti-inflammatory and began physical therapy regimen every other day with the bird, focusing on range of motion of the eagle’s left wing to help the bird regain flight capability.

During the past three weeks, Bald Eagle #22-3464’s condition has remained stable, and the veterinary team determined that the eagle – thought to be female – was ready to transition from Metals to a larger outdoor enclosure. On March 24, she was moved to the partitioned raptor tower area of flight pen A3, adjacent to Bald Eagle #23-0147. In this outdoor space, veterinary staff will continue to perform bandage changes and check the wound on the eagle’s left elbow each day.

During the past three weeks, Bald Eagle #23-0749 has continued to recuperate in the Center’s A1 flight pen. During daily exercise, rehabilitation staff report that the bird is able to complete between 6-10 passes of the enclosure. Her physical stamina has improved during recent weeks, but a noticeable right wing droop has been observed following exercise sessions. Repeat radiographs performed on June 26 showed thickening of the soft tissue surrounding the bird’s right patagium – a condition previously noted upon the eagle’s admission, and likely the result of an older injury in the wild.

On August 2, the veterinary and rehabilitation teams will move the Black Bear cubs of 2023 to the Black Bear Complex. Repairs and final checks of the half-acre outdoor enclosure were completed during the week of July 24, and all five cubs are ready to transition to the new space.

During July, the cubs in the Large Mammal Isolation [LMI] enclosure have continued to eat, grow, and play – and the rehabilitation staff have been adding frequent enrichment activities for the curious cubs. Recently, the cubs were treated to some “bobbing for fruit” activities as well as fishcicles!

The Black Bear cubs of 2023 continue to do well within the Center's LMI enclosure during the past week. A detailed update from wildlife rehabilitator Mac describes that all of the cubs are eating well and gaining weight, and have recently been fully introduced to Black Bear cub #23-1605 (Double Orange):

"Cub #23-0529 (one-ear) is up to 8.58 kg this week from 7.03 kg last week. We are going to start weaning her off of the bottle this week.

The Black Bear cubs of 2023 have been doing well during the past couple of weeks – playing, eating, and growing!

Wildlife rehabilitator Mac’s cub notes this week include:

#23-0829 [broken leg bear]: “She’s up to 8.3 kg and is quite a handful when trying to capture for weighing – she had Alex and me running around the enclosure and wrestling to get her into a crate!”

#23-0681: "This cub is up to 4.16 kg this week and is still receiving bottles of formula twice a day [in addition to mush bowls and meals], though she hasn’t been as interested in the bottle lately."

The Black Bear cubs of 2023 have been doing well during the past week. Black Bear #23-0529 [one ear] continues to be one of the more active cubs, and is very vocal throughout the day. She is eating well and gaining weight -- on May 8, she weighed in at 3.65 kg. Rehabilitation staff have transitioned to bottle feeding her twice per day while still offering mush bowls and juvenile bear meals twice per day. On May 3, she was transitioned into the full LMI 1 enclosure.

The first cub of 2023, #23-0529,  has continued to do well during the past week. In addition to daily bottle feeding, the one-eared cub is now eating from mush bowls that the rehab team leaves for her, and she has increased in weight to 2.86kg. The rehab team notes that the cub has been intermittently pacing in her enclosure, likely because she does not have another cub to interact with. To provide socialization until cub #23-0681 can join her in LMI, the rehab team takes time to orchestrate "supervised" playtime each day. Take a look!

Black Bear cub #23-0529 [one ear] is doing well, and has been quite active in LMI during the past week. Rehabilitation Team Lead Mac reports that the cub is extremely interested in interacting with Black Bear cub #23-0681 [two ears], and has continued to show pacing behaviors in her enclosure outside of supervised playtime. She’s eating well and gaining weight – she regularly consumes 100% of the bottles that are offered three times per day, and usually eats solid foods overnight.

Black Bear cub #23-0529 [one ear] is doing well, and has been quite active in LMI during the past week. Rehabilitation Team Lead Mac reports that the cub is extremely interested in interacting with Black Bear cub #23-0681 [two ears], and has continued to show pacing behaviors in her enclosure outside of supervised playtime. She’s eating well and gaining weight – she regularly consumes 100% of the bottles that are offered three times per day, and usually eats solid foods overnight.