On February 4, The Wildlife Center of Virginia, a leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, transferred a non-releasable adult Bald Eagle to the care of the American Eagle Foundation [AEF], a Tennessee-based not-for-profit that operates the largest Bald Eagle breeding facility in the world.
The small adult eagle – likely a male – was seen on the ground in a field near Yorktown in mid-May 2010 and picked up by York County Animal Control. The eagle was admitted on May 18 and assigned patient # 10-654. [Animals admitted to the Center are given sequential patient numbers – in the order in which they are admitted. Patient #10-0654 was the 654th patient admitted to the Center during 2010.]
Upon admission, Center veterinarians found that the eagle was in good body condition, was standing alert, and no fractures. The eagle was missing seven primary feathers on its right wing.
Another round of radiographs in early June found no fractures. However, the feathers in the eagle’s right wing continued to grow out abnormally. Center vets were unable to pinpoint the exact cause, although they suspect either an unidentified infection or earlier exposure to West Nile Virus.
In October 2010, Center veterinarians declare the eagle as non-releasable and started the process of finding an appropriate permanent home for the bird.
AEF is headquartered at the Dollywood Entertainment Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The AEF has released dozens of captive-hatched eaglets.
It is estimated that the Bald Eagle population of North America numbered about half a million before European settlement. With the loss of habitat, shooting, and the effects of DDT and other pesticides, the U.S. eagle population plummeted.
In 1977, there were fewer than 50 bald eagle nests in Virginia. Today, the bald eagle population in Virginia is on the rebound. There are now more than 600 active bald eagle nests in the Commonwealth.
Every year, more than 2,000 animals – ranging from Bald Eagles to chipmunks – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care. The Wildlife Center is an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine. Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 56,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. The Center’s public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife. The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases.
The American Eagle Foundation develops, conducts, and supports a wide range of eagle restoration, protection and enhancement programs, including an extensive public awareness and environmental education effort.
