Wildlife officer saves bald eagle

A bald eagle struck by a vehicle recently while feeding on a raccoon carcass in Huron County is recovering after being rescued by a state wildlife officer and taken to Back to the Wild wildlife sanctuary for rehabilitation. Matt Smith, a state wildlife officer, responded after multiple calls reported the eagle had been hit. Smith located the bird in an adjacent farm field, where it appeared dazed but mostly uninjured, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He safely captured the eagle and transported it to Castalia-based Back to the Wild. Back to the Wild, a Castalia-based nonprofit founded in 1990 by Mona Rutger, who serves as the organization's executive director, returns injured and sick animals to their natural habitats through a medically approved rehabilitation process. The eagle had no broken bones but tested high for blood lead levels and is now in a flight cage over a trauma box where staff can monitor its movement and condition. The bird is not falling off its perch, but it's still too early to know when it will be releasable. Rutger said the eagle is being monitored at the center as staff works to treat its condition and rebuild its strength and atrophied muscles. "Just like us, she needs physical therapy," she said, explaining that the bird will need to do laps around the cage to strengthen endurance before it can return to the wild. Lead poisoning can cause a range of other health issues in eagles and other birds of prey. The staff is supplementing the eagle's diet with vitamins as part of its care. A piece of lead the size of a pellet can kill a grown eagle, she said. The bird may have fed on another animal that had been shot, or it may have been exposed to lead from the environment. Although lead shot has been outlawed for duck hunting, old shot can remain in marshes and wetlands. Wildlife officials said the eagle is expected to make a full recovery and be released when healthy. The incident is one example of how wildlife officers respond to injured animals and work with rehabilitation centers to give them the best chance at survival.