Fingers crossed

This is a very sick adult male golden eagle that was found up on the mountain outside of Thermopolis. Luckily the people up there spotted him and called Benj Brown, the WGF biologist there who then called me. This was a trip of about 110 miles with the last 6.2 miles on a very rocky, sandy, steep in places, dirt road. Luckily I have 4WD so it was a long crawl onward and upward.

I have no idea what ails this beautiful bird, he's severely starved, only weighing a bit over four pounds. He should be twice that and with his age there should be no reason for him to be unable to catch a meal. Because it was a Saturday afternoon I was unable to take him in for an exam but tomorrow he'll be seen and blood work done.

Thanks to his rescuers bringing him a large pan of water he at least had moisture. He was standing in it by the time I got there. Now we come to his name, TROUT. That's what the people gave him to eat not knowing that this species doesn't eat them. That's okay, their heart was in the right place.

Last night and today he's received some electrolytes in the form of Lactated Ringers solution and this morning I added a special carnivore diet to it. It's a very potent powder that's mixed with water and given through a tube to his crop or stomach. I was absolutely astounded to see him standing up this morning. As you can see, he's not strong enough to perch high, the folded towel is enough for the moment, thank you very much.

Note: He died this evening about 5 o'clock. Just too much to overcome.
8/18: Preliminary report back from vet lab. Lead and WNV tests are pending but at this point it appears that he has a tuburculosis or fungal lesion to the right shoulder joint. The mass made it almost impossible for him to fly and therefore to hunt food.