Quick work to reverse the effects of euthanasia drugs saved the lives of several eagles on Vancouver Island this week.
Veterinarian Ken Langelier and his staff at Island Veterinary Hospital were busy preparing several eagles for release and recovery Tuesday. The birds became ill after they consumed large amounts of meat from the carcass of a deceased animal at the Nanaimo Regional Landfill.
The first bird was rushed to the clinic Sunday.
sa国际传媒淚 got a call from the Pacific Northwest Raptors, they do the bird abatement [at the landfill] to keep the birds under control, and theysa国际传媒檇 noticed an eagle had gone from standing to laying down and brought it in,sa国际传媒� Langelier said. sa国际传媒淭he very first thing I noticed is it had low body temperature and was very unconscious. They thought it might have died.sa国际传媒�
The bird had a slow heart rate and low blood pressure, but was still alive. Clinic staff emptied the birdsa国际传媒檚 crop and stomach contents and warmed it up. As Langelier worked to save that bird, several more were found and rushed in for treatment.
sa国际传媒淎 couple of birds we put on antibiotics because we thought they might have aspirated something,sa国际传媒� Langelier said. sa国际传媒淪o it was mostly just keeping them alive by symptomatic treatment.sa国际传媒�
One of the nine birds brought in to the clinic developed aspirated pneumonia and died. A tenth bird found ill was being brought into the clinic Tuesday morning.
sa国际传媒淓verybody loves eagles, even the people at the landfill, and theysa国际传媒檝e done a lot to help out, not only in this situation but any time theresa国际传媒檚 anything that they can see,sa国际传媒� Langelier said.
He said, judging from the birdssa国际传媒� stomach and crop contents, it appeared the meat might have come from a pig that had been euthanized. Sodium pentobarbital, the drug used to carry out animal euthanasia, remains in the carcass at toxic levels, so euthanized animals must be buried or cremated to prevent contact with scavengers.
sa国际传媒淭he landfill wasnsa国际传媒檛 aware that an animal had been brought in that was that was euthanized,sa国际传媒� Langelier said. sa国际传媒淚f people would just tell them, they have a special area that they use and they bury them immediately so there is no possible animal exposure.sa国际传媒�
Tissue samples were taken from the consumed meat to determine what kind of animal it was, where it might have come from and possibly even find out who brought it to the landfill. Poisoning wildlife can result in criminal charges.
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Langelier has treated previous eagle poisonings; the biggest was in 1988 involving nearly 30 birds. There were two separate poisoning incidents in 2019.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 unfortunate [and] shouldnsa国际传媒檛 happen at all,sa国际传媒� he said.
North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington is helping with the recovery and release of the birds, three of which will need ongoing care at the centre. Four birds will be released right away and possibly two of the birds will receive ongoing care with the Raptor Rescue Society in Duncan.
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