Last week there was an article in The Vicksburg Post about the bald eagle that I had posted on back in April being injured again. It was nursed back to health and released earlier this summer under the care of wildlife rehabber Becki Bolm. The female, believed to be about 3 years old, was found in the road at Tara Wildlife Preserve, unable to fly, on July 23. Just 33 days earlier, Bolm had let the eagle go after a previous 10-month rehab from injury and malnutrition. An exam revealed the eagle had a large bruise and sore at the bend in her left wing. Staff at Tara had been watching out for the eagle since her release on June 20 and in mid-July began to notice her on the ground and flying low to the ground. She soon was found on the road and recaptured. She was sent to Jackson for evaluation and after x-rays were not sure how the eagle was injured, but know she was not shot. She is being housed in a "huge 6-foot cage that has been built for her" and will be taken to LSU in about two weeks to see if she is healthy enough to be released. If not, she can train her to a glove for feeding and care.
In the meantime, the eagle is eating baby chicks, rats and mice, some frozen and provided by Bolm, and some hunted from the mice and rat houses Bolm maintains to keep the bird's hunting skills sharp. "She'll need to kill about 25 rats before I can let her go," she said.
The species was removed from the federal endangered and threatened species list in 2007, but remains protected under the Migratory Bird Treat Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. It is illegal for anyone to possess the birds, their feathers, nests or eggs without a permit. Native Americans, however, are able to keep bald eagle feathers, which are used in sacred ceremonies and customs.
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