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Bald eagle infected with bird flu successfully rehabbed, released back into wild
By Jordan BowenPublished June 9, 2025 6:02 am EDT
The Brief
-The Raptor Center of Tampa Bay is one of the first organizations to successfully rehab a bird infected with bird flu.
-The male juvenile bald eagle spent 59 days in rehab before being released.
-His sister, who was infected with bird flu, died just two hours after being rescued.
...
Because of the female's symptoms, they were preparing to euthanize her, but she died before they could. Both tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, the male was asymptomatic, so Murrah reached out to U.S. Fish and Wildlife for guidance.
"They had advised us that they would euthanize a bird because of the difficulty of dealing with isolation," Murrah said.
But Murrah says she and her team saw an opportunity to try and save this bird because, although he tested positive for bird flu, he wasn't showing any symptoms that would cause him pain.
"For us, we had an asymptomatic bird, very bright-eyed, very active in the cage, good body weight. And like I said, had I not tested him, you wouldn't have thought he had anything wrong with him," Murrah said.
After a 33-day quarantine, Murrah says he tested negative, but just to be sure, they tested him again after a week and a half, and he was still negative. He spent the next 21 days in a 100-foot-high flight cage until he reached proper body weight to be released back into the wild.
...
https://www.fox13news.com/news/bald-eagle-infected-bird-flu-successfully-rehabbed-released-back-wild
By Jordan BowenPublished June 9, 2025 6:02 am EDT
The Brief
-The Raptor Center of Tampa Bay is one of the first organizations to successfully rehab a bird infected with bird flu.
-The male juvenile bald eagle spent 59 days in rehab before being released.
-His sister, who was infected with bird flu, died just two hours after being rescued.
...
Because of the female's symptoms, they were preparing to euthanize her, but she died before they could. Both tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, the male was asymptomatic, so Murrah reached out to U.S. Fish and Wildlife for guidance.
"They had advised us that they would euthanize a bird because of the difficulty of dealing with isolation," Murrah said.
But Murrah says she and her team saw an opportunity to try and save this bird because, although he tested positive for bird flu, he wasn't showing any symptoms that would cause him pain.
"For us, we had an asymptomatic bird, very bright-eyed, very active in the cage, good body weight. And like I said, had I not tested him, you wouldn't have thought he had anything wrong with him," Murrah said.
After a 33-day quarantine, Murrah says he tested negative, but just to be sure, they tested him again after a week and a half, and he was still negative. He spent the next 21 days in a 100-foot-high flight cage until he reached proper body weight to be released back into the wild.
...
https://www.fox13news.com/news/bald-eagle-infected-bird-flu-successfully-rehabbed-released-back-wild
