Injured Wyoming Eagle Gets A New Lease On Life

Last month, a golden eagle was injured outside of Buffalo, Wyo. Now, thanks to a bird rescue facility in Cody, Charles will take his broken wing and learn to live again.

When the 11-month old eagle arrived at the Ironside Bird Rescue in Cody, the tip of its left wing had been electrocuted by a power line. After a month of treating the wound, the tip of the wing fell off. Dr. Malcolm Blessing and his team at the Lifetime Small Animal Hospital performed surgery, amputating another portion of the injured wing.

Although Charles will never fly in the wild again, he survived the surgery and is expected to live a long, healthy life.

"Charles is doing very well," Ironside Bird Rescue owner Susan Ahalt said. "When he arrived, he weighed under 7 pounds. Now, he's over 11 pounds and he's getting chubby."

Ahalt founded Ironside Bird Rescue in 1987. Over the years, she has helped rehabilitate thousands of birds and currently has the biggest facility in the state. Along with golden eagles, great horned owls and red-tailed hawks are the most common birds she treats.

After he is fully rehabilitated, Charles will likely be sent to a zoo or educational facility who use him as an ambassador to teach visitors about golden eagles and the potential dangers they face in the wild.