Providing a second chance for Injured Birds Of Prey
Igor and Cruela, The Bald Eagles at the Centre. Before Igor came to us, he had a badly broken wing and had been professionally rehabilitated. Sadly the wing has since required to be amputated. However, this has not deterred him from setting up housekeeping with Cruela. Both Igor and Cruela came to us courtesy of the Veterinary Collage at the University of Saskatchewan.
Providing a second chance for Injured Birds Of Prey
Although the Centre does not currently function as a wildlife rehabilitation facility, we do have emergency medical rehabilitation facilities in place to supply emergency first aid measures when needed. We also work very closely with our veterinarians. We have the special knowledge and skill that is needed to properly treat injured specialized species, when the need arises.
Over the years, we have provided sanctuary to numerous birds of prey that have been injured in the wild. Unfortunately for some of these birds, their injuries are so severe that they cannot be released back into the wild. Rather than being euthanized, they are sent to our Centre and placed into captive propagation programs so that they may have a second chance to live fulfilling and productive lives while simultaneously doing their part to ensue that their species can never become extinct.
Many rehabilitation facilities are only capable of handling a limited number of birds at any given time, and this forces them to find suitable homes for many non-releasable birds. However, in many cases public display in traditional zoos is not the ideal home for these birds, whose only exposure to humans has been during the stressful rehabilitation process. The Centre’s isolated, stress free environment is ideal for non-releasable wild birds such as these.
Rather than simply placing these birds alone in aviaries to simply live out their remaining years, we always attempt to place them into breeding pairs, thereby giving their life meaning. We have always found that these birds thrive at our Centre; in fact many of our biggest success stories are the result of captive breeding birds that have come from rehabilitation centres.
It is very gratifying to see these birds living a stress free simulated natural life at our Centre, and in some ways their unfortunate injuries have allowed them to play a larger role in the overall global conservation movement. Many of their offspring are now used in educational programs, not only at our Centre, but also at zoological facilities around the world.
If you would like additional information about how the Centre provides a second chance to injured birds of prey please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.