WASHINGTON, April 23, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- During the evening of April
20th, the right leg of 23-day-old Bald Eaglet "DC4" became
precariously lodged inside a hole within the outer rails of its
large stick-nest. The eaglet was unable to free itself after many
attempts to do so over a considerable period of time.
DC4 resides in a wild nest located at the top of a Tulip Poplar
tree at the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) U.S. National
Arboretum (USNA) in Washington DC
along with its sibling DC5 and Bald Eagle parents Mr. President
& The First Lady.
Via the live-streaming cameras on dceaglecam.org, it became
apparent to worldwide viewers that DC4 was in trouble and
distressed, and that a human-coordinated rescue could significantly
decrease the chance of serious injury to the eaglet's leg. The
non-profit American Eagle Foundation (AEF) and the U.S. National
Arboretum immediately cooperated with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service and Ex-Cel Tree Experts to plan the removal of the
eaglet from the nest.
"Typically when something goes awry in a wild eagle nest, we
don't even know about it and nature simply takes its course," says
AEF President Al Cecere. "In this
case, however, we could all clearly see how much the eaglet was
struggling and how human intervention might make the difference
between life and death. We had the power in our hands to help, so
that's what we did."
After being retrieved and lowered from the tree by professional
arborists Matt Morrison &
Marty Levine, the eaglet was
initially assessed on the ground by US Fish & Wildlife Service
biologist Craig Koppie (also an experienced tree climber). It then
received further examination by veterinarian Samantha Sander at the Maryland Zoo in
Baltimore, who truly gave the
eaglet the "presidential treatment!" A physical check-up and
radiograph revealed no permanent damage to DC4's leg, with the only
visible signs being a slight abrasion and swelling. Overall, the
eaglet received an acceptable health report and was approved by the
veterinarian to be placed back into its nest.
DC4 was successfully returned to its nest at the Arboretum on
April 21st at around 5pm EDT. Mr. President, The First Lady, and DC5
welcomed DC4 back home, safe and sound!
The entire process of freeing the eaglet's lodged/stuck leg,
getting it checked out/radiographed, and then returning it to the
nest took less than 24 hours.
Sue Greeley with USNA helped
facilitate the entire process at the Arboretum, while AEF President
Al Cecere guided and monitored the
effort virtually by phone and internet from Tennessee.
The nest cam footage of these events can be seen on the
AEF's Facebook & Youtube pages.
"We are extremely grateful for all USFWS, AEF, USNA, Ex-Cel,
& Maryland Zoo staff and volunteers who readily responded to
this emergency situation and helped make this a quick, safe and
successful rescue effort," says Cecere.
ABOUT THE D.C. EAGLE CAM PROJECT
In 2015, the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) staff traveled to
D.C. to install state-of-the-art cameras, infrared lighting, and
other related equipment in-and-around the nest tree with the help
of volunteers and experienced tree arborists and climbers. This
past year, the AEF added microphones near the nest to further
enhance the viewing experience, and a team of arborists and eagle
experts affixed natural tree limbs beneath the nest to provide
added support. The USDA's U.S. National Arboretum ran a half-mile
of fiber optic cable to the cameras' ground control station, which
connects the cameras and microphones to the Internet. The entire
system is powered by a large mobile solar array (containing several
deep cycle batteries) that was designed and built by students and
staff from Alfred State College,
SUNY College of Technology and was
partially funded by the Department of Energy and Environment. USNA
has implemented a backup generator that will kick-on if prolonged
inclement weather causes the solar array to provide insufficient
power to the system. In 2016, APEX Electric Inc. (Kenmore, Washington) traveled to D.C. to
assist the AEF in successfully installing audio equipment in and
around the tree. The AEF uses Piksel to stream the video images to
viewers around the world, and AEF volunteers are trained and
coordinated to pan, tilt and zoom the cams, as well as educate the
public via LIVE chats while viewers watch the eagles via the cams
on the Internet.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rescued-eaglet-returned-to-national-arboretum-nest-in-washington-dc-300443927.html
SOURCE American Eagle Foundation