Mississippi
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"It's so sad when you lose something so majestic," said Valery Smith, marking the loss of an American bald eagle that she and other volunteers with Mississippi Wildlife Rehabilitation tried so hard to save.

But easing her grief was good news last week from Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. A bald eagle sent by MWR to the American Eagle Foundation facility there was recovering and flying, and likely to return to Smith for rehab and release.

The juvenile eagle that died was found injured two weeks ago in Walnut in Tippah County. Likely hit by a car, it was "in bad shape" when received by MWR founder and director Smith, a trained and federally licensed raptor handler. She put the bird on fluids and medications, and even fashioned a "stretcher" with PVC pipe and fabric.

Meanwhile, her volunteer network was arranging to transport the bird to the advanced raptor rehab center at Louisiana State University.

But after X-rays and examination last week, the eagle was deemed unlikely to recover from apparent spinal injuries that made useless its wings and legs. It would never soar again or be able to hunt, and as MWR volunteer and veterinarian Dr. Lynn Cox put it, "A bald eagle in a wheelchair just won't work."

"I called my contact in Georgia at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and we talked about our options," Smith said. "Dr. Cox's medical opinion was that 98 percent of the cases presented with critical neurological symptoms like the eagle were not treated successfully."

The bird was already stressed, "and would be stressed even more by networking him down to LSU in Baton Rouge, changing vehicles and so on. We finally decided euthanasia was what was best for the poor bird."

This was done by Cox on Monday at his All Animal Hospital in Olive Branch. Smith cradled the eagle's head as Cox, talking of the American icon's significance to the veterinary students present, gently administered the injection. All were consoled by the fact that the bird, unfound, would have starved to death or been torn apart by other predators.

"He didn't have to suffer," Smith said.

The same day, she heard from the Dollywood foundation that a bald eagle sent earlier with wing-extension problems "was flying around. We thought he might stay with their eagle propagation program if he was un-releasable, but now we might get him back next year."

Happy endings are more common than sad ones: "A good ratio for successful rehab and release is four out of 10 animals. But our success rate was 62 percent last year (among those releases a bald eagle near Enid) and it's higher this year," Smith said last week. "It's been busy."

With the new year approaching, she said MWR is getting ready. A volunteer, Nancy Fachman of Water Valley, is getting raptor training and soon will be able to help Smith with avian "triage."

"We want to give animals a second chance," Smith said.

Tags:  eagle smith raptor volunteer american rehab foundation getting might flying