Bald Eagle #19-0031 update

Bald Eagle #19-0031 has been doing well in the days following her surgery. The bird has been bright and alert, and Dr. Karra notes that the eagle is exceptionally strong.

The veterinary team has been checking the surgical site on the eagle’s wing each day; the left ulna is swollen and bruised but is only showing a minor amount of discharge around the pin sites. The eagle is receiving laser therapy each day before her wing is re-bandaged and wrapped.

The eagle has been able to keep down the tube-fed diet; on Saturday, Dr. Karra took “contrast radiographs” – before tubing-feeding the eagle, she added a minor amount of “contrast” to the diet. After the tube-feeding, she took radiographs of the eagle to check for any leakage from the eagle’s punctured stomach. Everything was within normal limits, and the bird was tube-fed twice a day throughout the weekend. On Monday afternoon, the rehabilitation team will offer the eagle a diet of “clean meat” -- easily digestible rat meat without fur and bones.

 

The eagle’s demeanor and progress are encouraging, though the bird still has a long road to recovery. The eagle is still at risk for internal infection; the prognosis is also still guarded for a full recovery from the multiple wing fractures.