PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Washington State University says its veterinary experts have successfully treated a bald eagle found suffering from lead poisoning.
Nickol Finch heads the exotics and wildlife unit at the Pullman, Wash., school’s veterinary teaching hospital. She says the bird was unable to stand when he was found in a ditch in January. She gave him intravenous fluids and chelation therapy — administering chemicals that bind to the lead and carry it out through urine.
The bird was released Monday at a steep canyon near where he was found. WSU reports he looked momentarily bewildered, then flew off to perch in a pine tree.
