After successful treatment for lead poisoning at Kansas State University's Veterinary Health Center and a rehabilitation stay at the Milford Nature Center, Spar, a bald eagle, is released back to the wild. Photo by Kansas State University. Thanks to action by staff of the Milford Nature Center and veterinary intervention at Kansas State University (KSU), a bald eagle suffering from lead contamination is flying once again. The eagle, brought to the Veterinary Health Center at KSU, was depressed, emaciated, not eating, and unable to fly, leaving it with a poor prognosis for regaining its health, according to James Carpenter, DVM, DACZM, professor of wildlife and zoological medicine. After the bird was admitted to the Veterinary Health Center, a physical examination and testing found it was suffering from lead poisoning. It was also determined that the eagle was a male around 4.5 years old. Birds acquire lead poisoning most commonly by consuming dead animals that were shot by lead bullets or from other sources of lead contamination, said Dr. Carpenter, adding that lead toxicity is a common ailment in eagles. Before joining KSU in 1989, Carpenter headed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Propagation Program at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland for 15 years. During this time, this program reintroduced 83 captive-produced eagles into the wild in 13 states. “While I was at Patuxent, a severely debilitated eagle was brought to us and we diagnosed lead poisoning,” said Carpenter. “… over 35 years later, we’re still working on the same issue.” At the Veterinary Health Center, the eagle received the standard treatment protocols for lead toxicity: a chelating agent to reduce its lead levels and intensive support care. The eagle’s treatment also was an educational opportunity for the university’s veterinary students. Carpenter was assisted on the case by Rob Browning, an exotic animal intern, along with three fourth-year veterinary students and a veterinary technician. They named the bald eagle Spar. After five days of treatment, Spar’s condition improved and he was sent to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s Milford Nature Center, northwest of Junction City, Kan., for rehabilitation. Birds rehabilitating at Milford Nature Center first receive intensive care inside the building and then are taken outside to one of the center’s specialized bird enclosures to get them used to the weather, according to Vanessa Avara, assistant director at the center. The enclosures include a large flight pen. The birds are kept for several weeks while they build up muscle and strength so they can be released back into the wild, as Spar was. Most eagles brought to the center suffering from lead poisoning got it by eating fish that had ingested lead sinkers or eating deer that were shot with lead ammunition, Avara said. “ … people don’t realize how much lead ammunition fragments when it hits a target,” Avara said. “It doesn’t take much to poison a bird like an eagle—maybe two or three pieces the size of a BB can cause serious problems with one of those birds.” When the lead gets into the gastrointestinal tract of an eagle, it breaks down and is absorbed, Carpenter said. “Once in the bloodstream, lead can affect numerous organs, resulting in clinical signs of disease, including neurologic signs,” hevsaid. “Most eagles with lead toxicity will die or, even if rescued, may be euthanized if they are profoundly ill.” At the end March, Spar was released. His recovery and release to the wild were important, Carpenter said. “I think it had a great impact on our students and others who viewed the release,” he said. “We’re really appreciative of the wildlife fund that we have at the Veterinary Health Center, which is a fund made possible by the financial contributions of private individuals who share our passion for wildlife. This fund paid for all the diagnostics and medications provided to this eagle. I’m just appreciative that my students and I could be involved and see the whole treatment and release process.”
