WSU vets unable to save bald eagle
Dr. Jennifer Brown X-rays the injured eagle in Moses Lake. The eagle was unable to be saved by WSU veterinarians.
ELECTRIC CITY - Washington State University veterinarians were unable to save an injured bald eagle that was shot near Sunbanks Resort in Electric City.
The eagle sustained at least one fracture in the upper part of its right wing, said Charlie Powell, senior communications manager at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman, on Tuesday. Powell said the fracture was older and had become "grossly infected." Much of the tissue around the fracture was dead, according to Powell.
The eagle was euthanized Monday afternoon at the WSU Veterinary Hospital.
The eagle was found sometime Sunday and reported to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Sara Gregory, of Fish and Wildfire, took the bird to the Pioneer Veterinary Clinic in Moses Lake about 11 a.m. Monday.
The clinic took X-rays and examined the injury but an operation wasn't possible. Dr. Dick Maier said the injury had begun to repair itself, but the wing was inoperable. Maier spoke with veterinarians at the WSU hospital and they agreed to look at the eagle. Maier drove the bird to Pullman Monday night but the extent of the wound were too great.
The eagle's body will be sent to the National Eagle Repository in Colorado. Eagle parts, including feathers, are distributed to Native American tribes authorized by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The repository was established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the early 1970s to provide Native Americans with the feathers of eagles needed for religious purposes.
Four bald eagle were shot in January at a Snohomish County lake and their bodies were found floating in the water. Killing a bald eagle is a serious offense, including a maximum fine of $250,000 and two years in prison for a federal felony convicting, according to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Violating the act is also a misdemeanor under state law.
The bald eagle is no longer listed as an endangered species for the state, and was removed from the threatened animal list in 2007.
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