Rehabilitated eagle soars into the wild

Feather grafting

Just when they felt helpless, a turning point arrived.

In March, Neil Forbes, a British veterinary expert, visited the center for a tour. The rehabilitators consulted him regarding the feather issue with the eagle, and he proposed a treatment plan: first, to perform protective feather grafting, where grafted feathers would protect the new growing feathers; second, to regularly add vitamin H to its food to promote feather growth.

With a solution in hand, they immediately took action.

As it was the first short-toed eagle received at the center, their "feather bank", where they collect feathers from raptors that couldn't be saved in order to graft them onto other birds, did not have short-toed snake-eagle feathers.

As a result, they used feathers from owls, falcons, buzzards and large raptors for the grafting operation and regularly added vitamin H to its diet.

In March, they performed "protective feather grafting" for the eagle, attaching six feathers to its left wing and nine feathers to its right wing, Zhou said. After the feather grafting, the eagle initially showed some discomfort in the enclosure and even broke off a newly grafted feather shortly after. "But it quickly regained its composure," she said.

As expected, during this year's molting season, the grafted feathers helped the new feathers grow in good condition. In August, Zhou told Beijing Youth Daily that the eagle had grown 15 new flight feathers, most of which were growing well. The eagle could fly within the enclosure. As the new feathers gradually filled in, only about three old feathers remained grafted.

"The process of new feathers replacing the old is somewhat akin to humans shedding baby teeth and growing adult teeth," Zhou said.

The bird's weight reached 1,778 grams on Sept 26.

Zheng said: "The autumn wind is blowing and it is right during the migration season for birds. The Wild Duck Lake area teems with diverse wildlife and offers an ideal environment for the bird to readjust to life in the wild. We hope it can soon catch the wind to embark on its journey."

chenliang@chinadaily.com.cn