What Happens When A Bald Eagle Gets Hurt?

[00:00:00]Recently, our favorite eagles were in trouble.

[00:00:05]Jackie swallowed fishing line. Shadow hurt his foot. And us viewers were left wondering, are they going to be okay?

[00:00:16]And that made me wonder, what if Jackie or Shadow needed help if something happened to them that they couldn't handle on their own?

[00:00:26]Well, that answer exists in places like this. a raptor rehabilitation center or a hospital for birds of prey.

[00:00:35]And today we are at one of the best in the country. How's it going?

[00:00:40]Look at that bird.

[00:00:46]This is the Carolina Raptor Center, a place where birds come for their second chance.

[00:00:55]Today we're going to see up close exactly what happens when a bird is injured and explore the safety net that exists for eagles like Jackie and Shadow when things go wrong.

[00:01:10]This is our drop off window um that we have at the Carolina Raptor Center. Um all of our new patients come through this window. Actually, it's part of our biocurity. Um, and once they arrive, we have get a little bit of paperwork on them and then a staff member is able to meet us here at the window. Um, they actually go in through the window where they wait to be admitted.

[00:01:28]>> And interestingly, the first step is something you might not expect.

[00:01:33]>> For eagles specifically, aven influenza is actually something that's still out in the environment. So bird flu, um, you know, it impacts our chickens and poultry industry, but it also impacts wild raptors. Um, so the first thing we would do is actually we would take a swab of that bird, um, and send it off to our state lab, allow them to do a little bit of testing, then perform an intake exam. We try really hard to have intake exams, be thorough, but really only last about 10 minutes. We know that the birds are really stressed from having to travel so far, be in a box, all those good things. And then we probably set them up outside, actually.

[00:02:02]Okay, I think this was one of the coolest parts to see. Outside the raptor center are dozens of outdoor enclosures of all different sizes. They provide a safe place for the birds to rest and heal on their recovery journey. And sometimes they're a place for the littlest of birds to grow up.

[00:02:23]Now, you might be wondering, that's cool, but if the birds are inside these enclosures, how do they get fed? Well, don't worry, because just like any hospital, they have a kitchen, too. Just not one you or I might want to eat at.

[00:02:36]Every day, meals get prepared special for the patients and delivered to them.

[00:02:40]Although, according to Sunny, this doesn't stop the birds from hunting on their own. Apparently, sometimes they'll find a cardinal puff left over, which I guess in the world of raptors is a good sign. I mean, if you're hunting, you're doing pretty well for yourself.

[00:02:56]Okay, but now let's say Jackie, Shadow, or whoever came there had a more serious injury that needed further care. Well, they had things for that, too. There's an area where birds can get x-rays to check for broken bones and more, as well as a whole surgical room and multiple vets and technicians on staff who are ready to tackle serious problems. This made me think of Jackie when she had swallowed the fishing line. If a bird came in with that, they might do an X-ray to see if they could find a sinker or lure attached in there. The bottom line is though, at the end of the day, a bird will probably end up in an outdoor enclosure. And believe it or not, there's a science to this part, too.

[00:03:32]Birds aren't just put in any vacant enclosure. Instead, this is a very carefully made decision. The enclosure depends on the size, age, and injury status of the bird. So, as birds get better or grow up, they get moved to different spaces. And for eagles, the end goal is this one, a huge 100 ft long enclosure where they can practice flying. I hope you guys can see how big this place is. This wasn't even half of it, but look how tiny I am compared to the ceiling height. Eventually, um, any eagle that came into our care would end up in here. They would be in here for a little while. Our staff would come out and do what we call flight evaluation.

[00:04:09]We're looking for even wing beats. We also would be looking for, you know, how in shape. Sometimes if you keep birds in care for a long time, they actually get out of shape and they pant just like a dog would or a person would huff and puff at the end of their exercise. So, we would exercise them up until we felt really good about it. And then once the bird has demonstrated it's ready and able to thrive on its own, well, then comes the best part of raptor rehabilitation.

[00:04:37]>> 5 4 3 2 1 fly.

[00:04:45]>> I think that raptor rehabilitation and rehabilitation in general is really special. I wish that there were more people out there who did it because there are always going to be animals that are injured.

[00:04:55]>> This video started with the question of what would happen to Jackie or Shadow because we love them and we love their story. But visiting here reminded me that for every famous eagle with thousands of adoring fans, there are countless others who are fighting the same battles just without anyone watching. It made me really thankful places like this exist. The Carolina Raptor Center has rehabilitated and released over 10,000 birds in their time. That's 10,000 stories that were almost cut short, but got to continue on. Stories that were just like Jackie and Shadows. And while we may never get to watch those ones up close, it still made me pretty happy to think about.

[00:05:39]Now, unfortunately, not every bird is able to be released in the end. Some won't make it, while others will have injuries that would make it impossible for them to survive in the wild. So, what happens to these birds? Well, I was happy to find out that many of them get a second chance, too. Many wildlife rehabilitation centers, including the Carolina Raptor Center, are a permanent home to several ambassador animals.

[00:06:03]Animals whose job it is to educate people on their species and inspire conservation. That's pretty awesome. I mean, that's cooler than my job. Not every bird will be a good fit to be an ambassador, but for those that are, they get to live a happy life that they wouldn't otherwise get. I caught up with a few of the ambassadors, including a golden eagle, the Andian condor you saw at the beginning of this video, and of course, some bald eagles. Some of the ambassadors are even trained and participate in live shows where people can experience the wild like never before. At one point, an owl flew like right over my head. It was awesome. All in all though, I found this very reassuring to know that there are places like this out there whose goal it is is to help birds of prey just like Jackie and Shadow. If you guys want to donate to the Carolina Raptor Center, I will go ahead and leave that link right here and link it in the description below as well. They have been so wonderful. They do some incredible work here and they have been so welcoming to us opening their doors and giving us a really amazing behind-the-scenes look at everything they do. If you guys did like this video, please go ahead and subscribe down below. I would really appreciate it. This video took a lot of planning and effort to make, so I would just really really appreciate the support. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in the next one.