Yesterday on my way to the grocery store I was listening to the radio. As I pulled into the parking lot the announcer was getting ready to talk about news stories.
“In Alaska, nearly two dozen bald eagles are dead after an unfortunate encounter with a truck.”
Say what? Instead of shutting off the engine and going inside as planned, I hung around to hear why so many of these once endangered species had died at once.
Them Crazy Birds
Turns out they were responsible for their own demise. The temptation? A truck full of fish waste outside of a Kodiak seafood processing plant.
A swarm of 50 bald eagles dive bombed the truck but the fish goo covered their feathers so intensely they couldn’t clean themselves off. Apparently the cold temperatures hovering in the teens, which they’re usually immune to, didn’t help matters any either.
Unable to fly and weakened from the cold, some sank into the fish muck that had intrigued them so much only to be crushed to death by it.
How Do You Save a Bunch of Eagles Stuck in a Truck of Fish Slime?
In order to save the birds the truck’s fishy contents were dumped on the floor of the seafood processing plant. Fish guts and gore plus slimy bald eagles spilled out everywhere.
The ones that were still alive got baths in warm water and dish soap. (I wonder if it was Dawn?) After their spa treatment came a transport to a recovery unit. In this case a heated fish and wildlife warehouse.
Prognosis
Unfortunately about 19 died, and of those saved some were in critical condition. But it’s expected all survivors will make a full recovery. And as soon as they’re fully dried and have regained their strength, they’ll be released back into the wild.
Who’s to Blame?
I would think the birds are to blame, but officials are investigating to see if the seafood company is negligent in any way. Federal law protects bald eagles and killing them is punishable by criminal and civil penalties.
I don’t think the seafood company meant to kill them. It was an unfortunate accident. I don’t think they purposely left a truck full of fish goo accessible to the eagles to tempt them on purpose. And something tells me they’ll take measures to make sure such an incident doesn’t happen again –-even without charges being filed.
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