STOUGHTON - Ed Young, a lifelong farmer who resides south of Stoughton, was driving home on his gravel road on Nov. 8 when he saw a brown eagle flopping around in the field.
He thought it was a golden eagle and that it had just captured a rabbit or a pheasant, and he continued to his home.
Four days later, Young went into his field to cultivate his land around the caragana bushes and noticed the eagle once again. This time he took a closer look, trying not to startle the bird, and realized that the raptor was injured. It was late, so Young waited until the following morning to call the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan (WRSOS) helpline.
He first went back to the place where he had seen the eagle previously, to ensure it was still there, and the bird was nestled in the caragana bushes, although he was quite camouflaged in the brown grass.
He said the WRSOS was quick to respond and within a few hours help was on the way from Estevan.
WRSOS president Rhiain Clarke, rescue volunteer Simone Mantei and junior rescue volunteer Lia Mantei arrived at the scene.
As the crew went out to the field to check things out, it was clear that the eagle had a broken left wing, but even with this injury he was still overly aggressive.
Clarke had a large net which was thrown over the bird, while Simone Mantei had the task of reaching under the net to secure the bird. She admitted to being nervous, as this was the first time she had ever handled such a large bird of prey, and the eagle was clearly not impressed with being handled.
Once the bird was secured and brought to Simone Mantei’s chest, Lia Mantei threw a blanket over the fowl to help calm him, and he was placed in a large kennel with the blanket.
When the bird was captured, he had his hackles up and was ready to attack, but due to his injury he was unable to escape. He measured around two feet in height with a wing span of at least four to five feet.
The eagle was taken to Haven West Rescue in Regina were he was assessed. It turns out he was a juvenile bald eagle, under the age of five years, as he still had the brown head.
Clarke later said that the eagle had been electrocuted, and he not only had a broken left wing, but his right talon was also dead. Without the use of this leg, he was unable to hunt and was humanely euthanized.
Clarke said with only a broken wing, it may have been possible to pin the wing until it healed, but with the use of just one leg, it was impossible for the bird to grab prey and that is their main source of food.
Bald eagles are seen in this area during the winter but will nest elsewhere in the spring. Golden eagles also spend time in southeast Saskatchewan during the winter. Both birds are similar in size. The bald eagle is protected and the numbers are stable right now.
Clarke has a passion for animals, and this is what got her into this line of work. It gives her a great feeling knowing that she helped rehabilitate an animal, but there are also times when it is not possible as it was with this eagle.
She stressed that the wildlife hotline is available 12 hours a day, 365 days a year. If a wild animal is in distress, please call the hotline at 306-242-7177.
Because of people like Young, more than 200 species have been helped with over 5,000 emergency calls received from 303 communities across the province.
By connecting wildlife to rehabilitation centres, it gives an injured, sick or orphaned animal a second chance.
