VETERINARIANS at Bendigo’s Passionate Vetcare have fixed the wing of a wedge-tailed eagle that was injured when it hit a powerline near Campbells Forest.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wildlife Rescue Emergency Service’s Neil Morgan found the eagle in a farmer’s canola field with a broken metacarpal bone.
Passionate Vetcare veterinarian Kellie Anset operated on the bird’s wing on Tuesday, inserting a pin and wires to stabilise the joint.
The eagle is being housed in a small cage with its wing bandaged, so the bird cannot stretch its wings until it has healed.
It will be three to four months before it can be released back into the wild.
Ms Anset said it was an unusual operation.
“Most birds with broken wings we don’t tend to fix,” she said. “But we attempted to fix it because wedge-tailed eagles are such beautiful birds,” she said.
“We’re really happy with the result and now it’s all up to WRES to look after it.
“We’re just hoping we will be able to release it back into the wild.”
Mr Morgan said it was about the 15th eagle WRES had picked up this year.
“There’s been a lot this year,” he said. “We’ve been inundated with eagles and small birds of prey.”
Mr Morgan said this could be the result of public awareness of WRES’s work.
“I think it’s just because people are more aware of what they see and more aware of what is around them,” he said.
Both the vet and WRES donate their time and services to save injured wildlife.
Ms Anset urged people to donate to WRES so it could continue its work.
Anyone who finds an injured animal should call the WRES emergency number on 0427301401.
