Six bald eagles have died and another six are recovering after possibly ingesting some type of poison in an area north of Duncan, the Raptor Rescue Society said Sunday.
Robyn Radcliffe, executive director, said the society began receiving calls last Wednesday about sick or injured eagles in the Herd Road area of North Cowichan.
Bald eagle was found dead in Herd Road area of North Cowichan. Photo courtesy Raptor Rescue Society
鈥淲e had two calls in the morning about two different eagles in a similar location,鈥� she said.
The society recovered the eagles, which were both alive, and took them to the Island Animal Hospital in Nanaimo.
Then, on Saturday, the society received a call from a conservation officer who had received a report of two more eagles in the same area 鈥� one dead and the other sick.
鈥淚t was in a very similar location, so we realized, 鈥極K, we better start searching; this could all be related,鈥欌�� Radcliffe said.
鈥淲e started searching and in the next two hours we found another eight eagles.鈥�
Of the six that are still alive, Radcliffe said the two rescued last Wednesday are now in the society鈥檚 care and doing well.
鈥淔ingers crossed that they should be released in the next one to two weeks,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a huge recovery time if we can catch it in time and treat it like this.鈥�
The other four eagles were still at Island Animal Hospital Sunday.
Veterinarian Dr. Ken Langelier said one of the birds has developed pneumonia, but he remains hopeful that all of them will eventually be released.
鈥淲e have had cases like this before,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n the late 80s, I actually had 29 bald eagles brought in all at once that had been feeding on the carcass of a cow that had been euthanized.
鈥淪o my suspicion is that some animal has been euthanized with pentobarbitol and not disposed of properly. And then the eagles are scavengers and if they see a free meal they鈥檒l go at it and they will gorge, and as the drug hits them they just start to fall asleep and act in sort of drunken state, flying into things or just laying on the ground or falling off branches and trees. It鈥檚 a pretty scary thing out there.鈥�
Langelier said it鈥檚 important to locate the source of the poison in order to prevent other birds from feeding on it.
Volunteers searched again Sunday but found no other dead or sick eagles.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e hopeful that we found them all, but of course they can land anywhere and they can fly large distances and if the food is out there then we鈥檙e going to be seeing more birds,鈥� he said.
In the meantime, the animal hospital has been treating the surviving eagles by keeping them warm, emptying their crops, giving them activated charcoal that binds with any poison in their stomachs or intestines, and providing intravenous fluids to keep them hydrated and flush the poison from their systems.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e certainly done quite well considering that yesterday they were flat out,鈥� Langelier said. 鈥淵ou can still pick them up and they don鈥檛 fight too much because they鈥檙e still sedated, but at least the drug is exiting their body and I hope to see a full recovery.鈥�
Radcliffe said it鈥檚 been a difficult case for the society and its volunteers.
鈥淵esterday, it was pretty disturbing for us to find sick and injured eagles,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e avid bird lovers and to find them like this is heartbreaking for sure.
鈥淏ut ultimately, it鈥檚 an important opportunity for people who are paying attention to this to recognize and learn that we need to dispose of euthanized animals correctly.鈥�
She said the case also serves as a reminder about the impacts of all the other chemicals that end up in the environment and the potential threats they pose to wildlife.
The B.C. Conservation Service could not be reached for comment Sunday. If anyone sees a downed, sick, injured or dead eagle, they鈥檙e asked to call the society鈥檚 emergency line at 778-936-0732.
