Posted on 07/19/2017 2:28:05 PM PDT by NEMDF
Dr. Coleen Stice usually performs surgery on humans, but this week she had an entirely different type of patient — a bald eagle.
Stice, an Omaha plastic and reconstructive surgeon, lent her skills to help the injured bird, found this spring with a mysterious head wound.
The eagle was discovered on the ground south of Syracuse, Nebraska, in May and brought to Fontenelle Forest’s Rehabilitation Center near Elmwood, where it’s being cared for.
Raptor experts were baffled over what caused the strange mark on the bird’s head, a spot that should be covered with white feathers.
(Excerpt) Read more at omaha.com ...
for a second I read the headline and thought that maybe the eagle had “feather plugs” on it’s head like Joe Biden...
The zoo’s veterinarian intern anesthetized the eagle. He and Dr. Stice were assisted by zoo veterinary technicians.
Betsy Finch, rehabilitation manager at the center, said the plan is for Stice to attempt a skin graft on the eagle in a couple of weeks; healthy skin will be removed from elsewhere on the bird and attached to its head.
If the graft is successful, the bird would have feathers on its head again, which would be an essential step for it to be released into the wild. Without feathers, the bird would suffer dangerous sunburn.
Eagles can get sunburned? There is such a thing as avian anesthesia? Oh, the things I learn on Free Republic.
It can only get sunburned if it remains a bald bald eagle, it seems. I love his little leather hat, reminds me of WWI aviators.... But he’ll probably have to give it up, if he goes back into the wild.
Not yet, sounds like that is coming (feather plugs) with the next skin graft.
Mark of the devil?
I don't get it, a true bald eagle and now they want to change it to a feathered eagle?
In Olde English, “bala” meant “a white patch.”
In Middle English, bala became “ballede.”
In Modern English, ballede became “bald.”
A “bald” horse has a white-marked face, and most mountains called “bald” are snow-capped for at least part of the year. A white-headed eagle = bald.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.