On Monday I received a beautiful Sandhill Crane from MT, brought down by Micsha from the Beartooth Nature Center in Red Lodge. I believe this may have been the bird that was seen about three weeks ago but they couldn't catch it. His left hock (think human ankle) had become dislocated and he'd managed to survive but barely.
Yesterday Dr. Blessing did repair surgery to put the joint back in place and it was an amazing job as he not only got it in place but the joint worked. The leg was then put into a fiberglass cast and I brought PALMER home. Because he apparently hadn't been able to find enough feed he was quite thin but his attitude was good. I tubed him with a special powdered diet, mixed with warm water, made just for carnivores. I know, but they are, they eat lots of bugs, mice, small mammals, so it was what he needed.
The sadness part came when I checked on him very early this morning and found out he'd died during the night. It was unfortunate that we weren't able to capture this wonderful bird much earlier, the outcome may have been much different.
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