An Update on Bald Eagle Poisonings with Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein of The Raptor Center
Tuesday, January 3, 2023 at 2:41AMArticle by Becky Fillinger, photos provided
Dr. Dana Franzen-KleinOur majestic neighbors, the bald eagles, are a keystone species – vital to the health and well-being of its ecosystem (that includes all of us). In early in December, over a period of a few days, 11 bald eagles were found critically ill near a landfill. The birds were brought to The Raptor Center for diagnosis and treatment. We spoke to Dr. Dana Franzen-Klein, DVM, MS, Medical Director at The Raptor Center and Wildlife Veterinarian, to learn more about what turned out to be poisoning and how the eagles are faring now. One has fully recovered and been released back to the wild!
Q: Can you please tell us what happened around the recent news about the poisoning of bald eagles in the area?
A: At the start of December, The Raptor Center responded to nearly a dozen critically ill bald eagles found suffering from probable poisoning from pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is a drug that is found in euthanasia solution and eagles can get poisoned by this drug if they feed on the bodies of animals that have been euthanized with it. All of these birds were found in the same location next to a landfill, where it was confirmed that there were euthanized animals in the landfill that the eagles could have had access to. Of the 11 eagles that were rescued, one bird was also infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza and sadly did not survive. The remaining 10 were treated in intensive care for the suspected pentobarbital poisoning, as well as other poisonings or injuries found on exam including lead poisoning and injuries to their feet. We are excited to report that all 10 eagles survived the initial poisoning event, and one bird has even been released back to the wild (watch video of the release). We are hopeful that the remaining nine in our care will continue to recover and will once again fly free in the next month or two. As Bald Eagles are a federally protected species, this suspected poisoning incident is under active investigation by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
One of the eagles brought in for care.
These are the 10 eagles that survived the suspected pentobarbital poisoning, thanks to care at The Raptor Center. Some eagles have colored nontoxic stickers on their beaks to help with patient identification when they are housed with others.
Q: Do eagles typically eat items found within a certain range of their nests?
A: During the month of December in Minnesota when this poisoning occurred, eagles are not paired up to breed or sitting on nests and will often leave their nesting territories to look for food over a range of locations. Once breeding season starts, they often hunt or scavenge much closer to their nest sites.
Q: What does rehab look like for the eagle patients?
A: Rehabilitation is a two-step process at The Raptor Center. Our specialized veterinary and rehab team first work to heal all of the medical issues in the patients - this includes giving intensive supportive care to the poisoned birds as many came in non-responsive - unable to sit up or stand on their own. They needed fluid therapy to help their bodies process the toxins, nutritional and vitamin support, nursing care, and antibiotics to treat the aspiration pneumonia that resulted from the birds being unable to protect their airways when they were sick. Additionally, a number were also experiencing lead poisoning, a poison that we sadly see in 80-90% of eagles that come into our center, and needed intensive treatment to help the birds bind and secrete the lead from their bodies. Finally, many birds also had additional physical injuries that might or might not have been related to the poisoning event.
Once the birds have recovered from their medical problems and are determined to be healthy, they move to the second step of their recovery process and receive a test flight by our veterinarian technicians to ensure that they are strong and can fly well enough for release. If needed, they will enter a flight strengthening program where they build back the muscle and stamina needed to survive and thrive in the wild during a number of exercise flights by our flight crew volunteers. Once we determine they are strong, healthy, and have good flight, they are released back to the wild in neutral territory along one of the riverways in our area.
Q: How can we support your efforts?
A: The Raptor Center’s specialized hospital for ill and injured raptors runs almost 100% on donations from the community. Because of the support of the public, we are able to treat over 1,000 sick eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, and vultures a year and give them a second chance at life. To help support birds like these eagles, please visit z.umn.edu/raptorgive and join our team to help protect birds and the world we all share.
Additionally, this incident shows the importance of recognizing that we as humans play a huge role in what goes into our ecosystem and chemicals or contaminants that we put out into the environment can have unintended consequences in our wild animals. Sadly, we see hundreds of poisonings every year ranging from lead poisoning to unintentional poisoning from rat bait, and from other drugs like pentobarbital in this case. These are all 100% preventable and we as humans have the power to help take actions to protect not just raptors, but the world we all share.
