From sore to soaring

Thabazimbi – Medivet Dierekliniek came to the aid of an injured martial eagle after a good Samaritan found the bird struggling next to the road on Sunday 18 July.

Suspecting that it was hit by a car (it  was clear that the bird was in pain), there was no time to waste, the good Samaritan used gloves, carefully wrapping the eagle in a towel before taking it to the vet. Once in the care of the dedicated Medivet team, the eagle was stabilised and sedated. X-rays were taken of his wings, legs and hips.

The images showed that the tip of its right wing was completely broken off and doctor Jamiela Barnard had to amputate. Its pelvis was also cracked causing extreme pain. These injuries would have made it impossible for it to fly and unable to hunt for food.

The surgery was followed by good food, rest and medication. The eagle spent the first few days laying on its chest bone because it was unable to properly use its hips, but its condition improved every day.
After only a week, the eagle was able to stand up straight. 

The Medivet team treated it with baby chick, ostrich meat and mice. After two weeks it was taken to doctor Jamiela’s small holding where she worked on rehabilitating it until it was strong enough to fly and hunt by itself. 

Now nearly a month after the incident, the eagle is once again soaring through the skies and drops by every now and then for a mouse on doctor Jamiela’s stoep.