Bald Eagle Despondent Over Packer's Loss! (Eagle Rescue Video)

 

Bill & Eagle Contemplate Each Other!

    Twas the day after the Packers lost another chance for the Super Bowl, as I pondered weak and weary over yet another squandered year of Rodgers' great career there came a message buzzing with muffled vibrato on my cellphone communion door, pushing the button I felt sure it would say; No! No Packer Super Bowl! No! Never more! Instead a picture of a bald eagle held by a friend with the message; "Have a visitor tonight too weak to fly for some reason. Or maybe just despondent over the Packers' loss"

    Yes, even that soaring symbol of our Country, which shares the same air we breathe, that great majesty too felt the cloak of gloom emitted  from Lambeau Field.  A despondency so heavy that it could no longer fly, came to the ground luckily nearby to where a settled homesteader tends chickens and vibrant garden when home.  Bill with help from his roommate Jeff secured the eagle then brought it inside. "Bird" happens to be Bill's nickname given by family, the eagle found a welcoming place to let its despondency over the Packer's loss bring failing wings to earth. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm anthropomorphizing a bit too much.

    Maybe the Eagle had no awareness of the Packer game or even cared one whit about football or Rodgers' career. Possibly something else might have weakened the great bird. Lead poisoning being a likely cause since following deer season eagles frequently find carcasses of deer that had been wounded then escaped to die. The eagles feed on the venison, but in  eating  they frequently ingest  bullet fragments which contain lead. The eagle could be suffering from lead poisoning instead of  the   Packers Lost Again In The Playoffs Syndrome!  

    Either way the eagle couldn't have picked a better place to alight. For my friend Bill Robichaud is a wildlife professional. Interesting how the lives of humans and animals intertwine. Bill as a teenager became the youngest Wisconsonite to get licensed as a Falconer. As a teen Bill kept a red tail hawk  he named Genghis in his Middleton backyard home. One day while walking Genghis in a Middleton park. Correct that, Bill walked while Genghis flew from tree to tree with bells attached to his feet so that Bill could locate his where-abouts. At one point Bill no longer heard the bells. He turned his head every which way trying to locate Genghis. Suddenly a commotion, a woman screaming on a nearby path. He rushed over to find Genghis had attacked her small dog on a leash. The dog leapt into her arms to escape. Talons entangled in the woman's rabbit fur coat Bill had to carefully extract Genghis while apologizing profusely. Luckily no serious harm came to dog or coat. After all the rabbits were already dead!

    Bill's life path took him from a teenage passion for Falconry to the University of Wisconsin for undergraduate degree in zoology. Then on to a Canadian University for a masters degree in zoology! His love of birds and professional knowledge eventually took him to Southeast Asia, Laos and Vietnam where he worked to catalog bird life in an area cited to become a huge reservoir. While there he learned that a rare Gazelle-like animal called a Saola had been captured in a nearby village. He immediately went to see this rare animal. Since the Saola was unknown to western science he stayed to document and record detailed biological information about the beautiful shy forest dweller. Unfortunately the animal died within a short time. Soala normally do not thrive in captivity without special care.

    This living encounter changed the arc of Bill's life. For the Saola is an endangered species living in the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam and Laos. The few remaining Saola live by trying to avoid snares laid up for the Asian animal trade. Though always a bird lover, Bill developed and organized a working group to help save the Saola. He spent enough time working with the citizens of the countries where the Soala lives that he learned to speak their language.  His efforts to save the Saola evolved into the Saola Foundation. (For more info. and picture of a Saola google saolafoundation.org.)

    Why do we care so much about eagles and other animals like the Saola that we seek to help heal them even save them from extinction. We exist as much more than just the dominant animal on the planet. As human beings we take ownership of greater intelligence, consciousness and understanding of the living dynamics on earth and in the Universe. Rachel Carson in her seminal book Silent Spring raised consciousness that the pesticide DDT jeopardized the reproduction of many bird species. Forty years ago threatened with extinction the bald eagle received endangered species protection. Now in Wisconsin due to this great conservation success to see a bald eagle soaring is no longer a rare sight. The Eagle Bill found and rescued is one of a reproducing pair that nests near Barneveld.  Human neighbors enjoy watching the eagles raise young every year. 

    Tuesday brought six inches or more of snow. Bill called his friend Greg McCune who overcame road conditions in an all wheel drive Subaru to help save the eagle. I met Greg at noon at the Dane County Humane Society. Bill had given the eagle a blanket to grab onto then put the big bird in a large box for transport. When Greg pulled the box out and set it on the ground the eagle began trying to escape. Greg deftly placed a board over the box to be sure the bird remained secure. Sarah met us there then checked the eagle in assigning it the number 21-0066.  She then quickly took the eagle inside.

 

Greg Delivers Eagle To The Humane Society!

    Being human implies much more than having dominion on planet earth. Responsibility is implied in the concept. Stewardship recognizes our spiritual evolution and interdependence with all life on earth.  For as we properly value ourselves as loving beings we naturally value all things great and small. In the following poem I attempt to catch the plight of the Saola!

Saola!

Dappled muzzle, in dappled light,

Retiring, graceful gazelle,

Lonely last of your race,

To walk

The Annamite Range,

Of Vietnam and Laos;

Exhale softly

On nibbled leaves,

As each raised hoof

Hopes to evade

A thousand and one

Hidden snares;

Oh friend, we pray for you,

Even as we pray for ourselves.

                                                        (For Bill)

    I will continue to check on the recovery of the eagle and provide updates in future blogs. *(See report at end received from Sarah on lead toxicity level found.)  If the eagle suffers from lead poisoning treatment is possible. Below is a video of an eagle released up at Sauk City taken by Darlene, that had recovered from lead poisoning. To get information directly you can email Dane County Humane Society Wildlife Center wildlife@giveshelter.org use the number 21-0066 to learn more about the Humane societies efforts to save this eagle. 

    Amid the Covid Pandemic, still waiting for a vaccination, sharing in the eagle's plight and efforts at rescue proved to be just what the doctor ordered to lift me from my funk. I'm now fully recovered from my Packer Loss Despondency Syndrome! 

    Until next time, thank you for joining me. May Peace and Serenity be Yours!  Tony

*We did confirm that this eagle has lead toxicity, and we are sending some of its blood out to get a more accurate number but it is at least above 65 ug/dL (as high as our in-house analyzer goes). The prognosis for this eagle at this time is guarded, as we often find that lead toxicity in these birds is quite severe by the time they come into rehabilitation. Based on its smaller size, we suspect it is a male. Sarah Karl (And they did start treating for lead right away!)