It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you that one of
our longtime residents, Myakka the Bald Eagle, has succumbed to a combination of
old age and, we suspect, the debilitating effects of lead poisoning.
In 1985 Myakka’s family nest was on the Myakka River in
Florida. His parents had three
eggs in the nest. Often in the
wild when there are more than two chicks one will be pushed out of the nest by
the larger siblings. Therefore,
Myakka’s egg was removed and hatched at the G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center
in Bartlesville, Oklahoma as part of an effort to re-establish a wild
population of Bald Eagles in Alabama.
After a successful release Myakka was injured in the wild by
a gunshot. He took three shotgun
pellets--two to his left wing, which eventually healed completely. At a rehab center in Minneapolis it was
discovered that he had sustained permanent damage to one eye from another
pellet, and because of that pellet’s position in Myakka’ head, it could not be
removed. In the wild this would
have been his death sentence. At
the end of 1986, when his injuries had healed sufficiently he was transferred
to the World Bird Sanctuary.
Even though he still carried the lead shot that caused his
eye injury Myakka was a real trooper.
He integrated well into the routine of becoming an ambassador for his
species, and over the years educated millions of people about the threats to his
kind from human activities, and some of those activities’ thoughtlessness.
We believe that his demise was brought about in great part
by the lead shot which he had carried since his injury. Even though his injury had occurred
many years ago, the lead was still in his system and we believe it finally had
broken down enough to carry its poison to vital organs.
Last week he began having trouble with balance and
coordination, and then began to experience severe seizures—classic symptoms of
lead poisoning. When it became
apparent that nothing we could do could help him it was decided to humanely
euthanize him rather than let him suffer.
Myakka will be sorely missed by one and all.
2 comments:
Memories will ease the pain. Sorry for the loss. Thank you for posting. Sending good thoughts and prayers for all the handlers and volunteers.
My heart goes out to the incredible WBS staff who have taken such care of this glorious bird. Myakka will be sorely missed...
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