King George Bald Eagle: Pox Case?
PATIENT: Bald Eagle, #10-2220
LOCATION OF RESCUE: King George County, Virginia
CAUSE OF ADMISSION: Avian pox?
ADMISSION DATE: November 21, 2010
PROGNOSIS: Died December 4
December 6 updateWhile the pox lesions on Bald Eagle #10-2220’s face and feet were slowly improving over the past week, the bird showed a decreased appetite and was noticeably more depressed on December 3. Bloodwork revealed a very high white blood cell count. When the veterinary team arrived on the morning of December 4 and checked on all the patients, they found that the eagle died during the night.
Dr. Kelly performed a necropsy on the bird and found it to be in good body condition with no large abnormalities other than an enlarged spleen. There were several plaques in one of the bird’s air sacs; these will be cultured to see if there was a bacterial or fungal infection in the air sac. Samples are also being sent out for further testing.
Caroline County Bald Eagle
PATIENT: Bald Eagle, #10-2153
LOCATION OF RESCUE: Caroline County
CAUSE OF INJURY: Struck by vehicle — perhaps twice?
ADMISSION DATE: October 29
PROGNOSIS: Euthanized December 3
December 6 updateOn December 3, Drs. Miranda and Kelly took this Bald Eagle to surgery to re-pin the fractured humerus that never healed. Once they were able to visualize the fracture more clearly in surgery, they saw that the piece of bone that had not attached to the callus was dead. While Dr. Miranda attempted to freshen up the fractured humerus by removing the dead segment, it soon became clear that she would have to remove a significant portion of the bone—nearly 35%. With such a significant piece of the wing missing, this bird would never be able to fly again. The vets decided to humanely euthanize the bird during surgery.
Dulles Airport Bald Eagle
PATIENT: Bald Eagle, #10-2143
LOCATION OF RESCUE: Dulles International Airport, Virginia
CAUSE OF ADMISSION: Struck by plane?
ADMISSION DATE: October 25
OUTCOME: Euthanized December 3, 2010
December 3 update
On December 2, Drs. Kelly and Miranda Sadar took Bald Eagle #10-2143 to Virginia Tech (along with the Peregrine Falcon recently admitted from Richmond) to see J. Phillip Pickett, DVM, Professor of Ophthalmology in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.
Unfortunately, the news was not good. Dr. Pickett confirmed what the WCV veterinary team had been suspecting: the bird is mostly blind in both eyes. In addition to the retinal tears, Dr. Pickett also found retinal atrophy in the right eye; he also suspects that there is severe degeneration of the optic nerve to both eyes.
What all this means is that the eagle is permanently blind and is definitely non-releasable. Drs. Miranda, Kelly, and Dave McRuer discussed the option of placing this eagle as an education animal and decided that the bird is not a good candidate. Based on observation of the bird in its flight pen, as well as abrasions to the eagle’s left wing and feathers, they concluded that the eagle was often running into things in his enclosure. Sadly, the Bald Eagle was humanely euthanized.
Fly free little ones....
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