Golden eagle rescued near San Diego suffered from kidney problems
A rare golden eagle with apparent kidney problems has been rescued on a S
an Diego County Indian reservation, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Golden eagles are not endangered, but there are only about 50 pairs in the county, the Union-Tribune reports. (The golden eagle pictured here was photographed in Montana in 1996 and we offer it as an example of the species.)
Reporter Onell R. Soto recounts last week's rescue by a tribal member:
The female eagle was lying on the ground and unable to fly when a security guard spotted it near the Viejas Indian Reservation's Kumeyaay Village, which is used for ceremonies, and called tribal officials.
"I knew what to do," said Cameron Welch, a tribal member who went to assist the bird.
Welch, 20, studied wildlife management at Humboldt State University for a year before homesickness brought him back to Viejas. He got a large dog carrier and put on welding gloves.
"It was really big," Welch said. "I was scared of its beak and talons."
Welch wrapped a blanket around the bird before taking it to the Pet Emergency and Specialty Center in La Mesa.
The eagle was dehydrated and appears to have kidney problems, said veterinarian Todd Cecil, who is treating it with antibiotics and intravenous fluids.
Once the bird is feeling better, it will probably go to Project Wildlife, a San Diego group that rehabilitates injured wild animals, the Union-Tribune reported. After its recovery, the bird is expected to be released on the reservation once it is healthy enough to hunt.
-- Francisco Vara-Orta
Photo: Bob Grieser/Los Angeles Times
