Tale of Tails

Small Victims
by: Andi Gossett

The tornadoes that swept through central Oklahoma in mid-May demolished everything that stood in their paths. The victims of these tornadoes were left homeless, some losing all they had, and these victims included wildlife of all varieties. One of these victims, a ten-week old Bald eagle, was separated from her family when her nest was blown out of a tree during the May 15 tornado in Hughes County. She had suffered a broken leg when found by Game Ranger Tom Cartwright on May 19 and was brought to WildCare for treatment and rehabilitation.

Dr. Joe Carter surgically put two titanium plates along the fractured femur. As of June 6th the radiographs reveled that the leg was healing. Dr. Carter recommended we start exercising her leg by putting her outside by the other eagle.

WildCare Director, Rondi Large says you can tell she is this year's chick by looking closely at a few things. Her underbelly is covered in down feathers, "At the end of the primary feathers there is a three-quarter inch of down tufts," Large says. "This only happens in the first feathers that are grown and that all of her primary, secondary and tail feathers are all blood feathers. That's how we know she's this year's youngster."

Large also says that the eagle had a sibling in the nest as well, and the sibling was most likely male. Because male eagles are stronger than females, the male could hop from branch to branch, and this is probably how he escaped injury during the tornado.

Bald eagles usually leave the nest 72-75 days after hatching, although females leave later than males, most likely because females are bigger. We are estimating that this female eaglet would have hatched at the end of March. She would have been preparing for her first flight by hopping up and down in her nest to build her leg muscles and flapping her wings to build wing muscles. But this all changed with an Oklahoma spring storm. Luckily, she was found by Cartwright and brought to WildCare, where she will receive quality care until she is able to be released back in to the wild.