Injured bald eagle rescued from B.C. playground
Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society will care for eagle
CBC News
Posted: Nov 2, 2012 11:21 AM PT
Last Updated: Nov 4, 2012 1:23 PM PT
This bald eagle was found swarmed by ravens on the Dease Lake School playground in nortwest B.C., on Wednesday. It will be flown to Vancouver and cared for at the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Delta. (Dease Lake School)
A bald eagle will be flying — by plane — to Vancouver after being rescued from a congress of ravens on a school playground in northwest B.C.
Brent Daniel, the principal at Dease Lake School and a volunteer firefighter, found the bird Wednesday.
It was swarmed by a group of ravens, with a badly injured wing, he said.
"It is literally bare bones showing, the muscle's been removed. It's three to four inches long and exposed," he said.
Daniel happened to be dressed up as a firefighter for Halloween, and says that the heavy jacket and gloves came in handy as he struggled with the bird and its razor-sharp talons, eventually covering it with his jacket.
"I have a little experience with birds of prey. I actually had an orphaned hawk about 15 years ago.
Dease Lake School principal Brent Daniel used his Halloween costume, a firefighter's jacket, to cover the injured eagle. (Dease Lake School)"So, I figured it was going to be the same sort of thing, until I lifted my jacket and saw the size of those claws. And we managed to tape up the legs and isolate him."
"I actually did a little bit of First Nations language speaking to it, and one of the Lakota-Sioux words I've been taught by my elders in the past was 'washte,' which means everything will be okay."
The eagle will be flown to Vancouver, and it will be cared for by the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Delta.
While staff at Dease Lake School initially thought the bird was a Golden Eagle, the society's executive director has confirmed the lack of feathering on its feet mean it is a Bald Eagle.
Daniel says students are rallying around the injured bird, and are fundraising to help cover the cost of the flight.
With files from the CBC's Marissa HarveyShare Tools
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