An Oklahoma wildlife sanctuary is mourning the loss of a bald eagle after saving the animal twice. “There was so much love coming,” Annette King, founder of Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Rescue, said on New Year’s Day, Wild Heart. A farm in Claremore had to say goodbye to one of its bald eagles, Clay. The Eagle was a two-time save, a fan favorite and was named after a local game warden. “We lost a Nowata game warden a few days before this eagle entered,” King said. “This eagle actually lived behind Warden Brent Clay’s property. It was an eagle that Brent had been watching and telling me about.” Clay was rescued in April after his wing was broken. He was released after two months of rehabilitation, but the eagle returned to the shelter last week. And I went, “Oh my God. I know this bird. I don’t know who he is, but I know him. But this time, it didn’t look so good. When he showed up, he was obviously in a fight with another eagle, King said. He had holes and infections all over him. He had a badly injured, swollen foot.” “The most serious, even though the foot was bad, he had 8.1 ppm lead poisoning in his blood. It only takes 1.0 ppm to kill a bald eagle.” He tried to save Clay’s foot, but it didn’t stick. “We relieved him, and his flight is over,” King said. “The bigger picture here is that he’s not my only eagle. It’s a fact that I’ve been rehabilitating bald eagles for 15 years, and at least half of them are positive for lead.” Operation Wildlife Rescue is appealing to Oklahoma hunters to stop using lead in the wild. “The message is for people to stop using lead in the wild,” King says. There are major alternatives. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s worth it for anyone who loves bald eagles.” “This is a symbol of our freedom, and they are not free to eat what they find in the wild because we leave garbage behind.”
The Oklahoma Wildlife Refuge is mourning the loss of a bald eagle after saving the animal twice.
“There was a lot of love coming in,” said Annette King, founder of Wild Heart Ranch Wildlife Rescue.
On New Year’s Day, Wild Heart Ranch in Claremore had to say goodbye to one of its bald eagles, Clay. A two-time save, the Eagle is a fan favorite and is named after a local game warden.
“We lost a Nowata gamekeeper a few days before this eagle entered,” King said. “This eagle actually lived behind Warden Brent Clay’s property. It was an eagle that Brent had been watching and telling me about.”
Clay was rescued in April after his wing was broken. He was released after two months of rehab, but Eagle returned to the campus last week.
“While he was at my table, he seemed very calm,” King said. And I went, “Oh my God. I know this bird. I don’t know who he is, but I know him. “
But this time, it didn’t look so good.
“When he showed up, it was obvious he had been in a fight with another vulture. He had holes and infections all over him. His foot was badly infected and swollen,” King said. “The most dangerous one, even though he had a bad foot, had 8.1 ppm lead poisoning in his blood. It only takes 1.0 ppm to kill a bald eagle.”
The shelter administered medication for high levels of lead and tried to save Clay’s foot, but it didn’t stick.
“We relieved him,” King said, “and his ride is over.” “The bigger picture here is that he’s not my only eagle. It’s the fact that I’ve been rehabilitating bald eagles for 15 years, and at least half of them are positive for driving.”
Wildlife Rescue is appealing to Oklahoma hunters to stop using bullets.
“The message is for people to stop using lead in the wild. There are major alternatives. It’s a little more expensive, but it’s worth it for anyone who loves bald eagles,” King said. “This is a symbol of our freedom, and they are not free to eat what they find in the wild because we leave our trash behind.”