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Bald eagle released by officials
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 1:19 PM EST
By Megan Cole, Staff Writer
MECKLENBURG COUNTY- On Thursday, Jan. 11, an adult bald eagle was released by the Wildlife Center of Virginia at the Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area, near the Kerr Dam.
Ed Clark, the president and co-founder of the Wildlife Center, a leading teaching and research hospital for native wildlife, took the bird in after it was burned from a collision with a power line on Dec. 5, 2006.
Deer hunters from Dundas saw the eagle carrying prey, fly into the power line and fall to the ground. The hunters captured the eagle and contacted the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) area Game Warden, G.W. Zupan.
Zupan and Marc Puckett, the wildlife biologist with VDGIF, transported the eagle in a wooden deer crate to the Wildlife Center's clinic in Waynesboro.
The Wildlife Center staff found burns and skin wounds on the eagle's metacarpals from the contact with the power line. The bird's wound was cleaned, and the eagle re-hydrated and given anti-inflammatory drugs.
As quoted in the press release from the Wildlife Center, Clark stated, "If this bird had spent much time on the ground, likely in some state of shock and unable to fly, its chances of survival would have decreased greatly. Our thanks to the hunters for their quick reaction and involvement, and for the timely help of the VDGIF staff."
"It's the first time I've ever been involved with the capture and transfer of an eagle," said Puckett. "It's a great thing to see one released, it is a once or twice chance in a lifetime."
While Clark did the actual releasing of the eagle, Zupan, Puckett and several others gathered to watch the animal return to its wildlife home.
The eagle, thought to be a male, weighed around 10 pounds, had an average height of 30 inches and a wing span of six and a half to seven feet wide.
Not all of the eagles adopted into the Wildlife Center are set free due to extensive injuries or death.
"Of the 29 rescued last year, one-third have been released or will be released," said Clark.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife sheltered just shy of 2,400 wildlife animals last year and altogether has hosted 47,000 animals, with 250-300 different species, from baby mice to black bears, since its founding in 1982, according to Clark.
"In May, we can get 600 animals in 30 days," said Clark.
Clark founded the center 25 years ago.
"I actually started the Wildlife Center when my interest in Wildlife came from hunting," said Clark.
The center trains veterans, veterinary students and has trained people from 80 different countries.
"We have given educational programs to 1.4 million people at the Wildlife Center of Virginia," said Clark.
Specialty training at the center avoids the taming of wild animals.
"This bird, we don't have any worries about how wild he is," said Clark. "Sometime the animals calm down a little."
In 1977, it was reported that fewer than 50 bald eagles nests were in Virginia. Now, with the help of several wildlife services, there are now more than 500 active bald eagle nests in the state.
The Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area is operated by the VDGIF, and is located in along the north side of the Roanoke River. The area includes 1,400 acres consisting of 300 acres of broad flood plain, or bottomland, with numerous wetland impoundments, totaling 165 acres. The area is named for the late Dick Cross, a former VDGIF Executive Director and wildlife biologist of the Wildlife Center.
The Bald Eagle was officially declared the National Emblem of the United States by the Second Continental Congress in 1782. It was selected by the U.S.A's founding fathers because of its uniqueness to North America species.
Bald eagles are around 29-42 inches long, can weigh up to 7 to 15 pounds and have a wing span of six to eight feet, making them one of largest birds in North America. Female eagles are larger than males. They have a life span of up to 40 years in the wild, and even longer in captivity.
For more information on Wildlife Center of Virginia visit www.wildlifecenter.org.
To see video of the release of the bald eagle, click the "South Hill Enterprise Video" icon on this Web site. |
