KSU veterinarian, interns help bald eagle soar after lead poisoningMay 8, 2018Thanks 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 …
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