WASHINGTON — The bald eagle that was found in Southeast D.C. Saturday is starting to show signs of recovery.
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Paula Goldberg, executive director of City Wildlife, said Monday that the bald eagle, which was brought in by Animal Care and Control Saturday night, looked like it was in tough shape. “It was soaking wet and very stressed. It was open-mouthed breathing and breathing very rapidly. It was a very unhappy bird.”
Goldberg said the eagle has been kept in a large enclosure in a quiet area of City Wildlife’s facility. “It actually ate [Sunday]” — a good sign, Goldberg said. “When birds are sick and down and out, they won’t eat. They are very similar to people: When you don’t feel good, you don’t really want to eat.”
Preliminary blood work shows no signs of lead poisoning, a real problem for many birds of prey who typically ingest lead from carcasses of deer, pheasants or other wildlife that may contain lead slug or bullet fragments.
The next step is to get the eagle to another facility where more tests — including a flight test — can be conducted. If and when the bird, whose gender hasn’t been determined, is given a clean bill of health, Goldberg said, it would be released near the area it was found.
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