Wildlife officials in Missouri rescued what they thought was an injured and flightless bald eagle, only to discover it was simply too fat to fly. That’s because it had gorged itself on a roadkill raccoon. The bird was spotted on the ground near the boundary of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Springfield, site of the first major Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi in 1861. Rangers from the Missouri Department of Conservation, working with National Park Service staff, captured and transported the eagle to Dickerson Park Zoo for examination and x-rays. Veterinarians expecting images of broken wings or other trauma instead found themselves looking at a succession of photographs of the remains of the eagle’s most recent meal — namely a raccoon’s leg and paw — in its distended stomach. The eagle was released, completely healthy and full of energy, after a short period of “rehabilitation” (digestion) at the zoo’s wildlife hospital. Missouri is a leading state in bald eagle conservation, with officials recording the presence of more than 400 nests over the last winter. Their diet consists mostly of fish, but they are opportunistic feeders and will feast on whatever requires the least amount of energy to acquire, and that occasionally includes roadkill.
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| The actual bald eagle |
