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Eagle With Attitude Making Great Strides After Pinellas Rescue

Photo courtesy of Wildlife Rescue and Rehab

A hurt eagle was taken to a rehabilitation facility after he was rescued last month.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

TAMPA - Eagle 515 has an attitude, and that may be the very trait he needs to pull through.

"He's an interesting case," said Diana Flynt, rehabilitation supervisor with the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Orange County, where Eagle 515 is recuperating. "It helps to be so cute."

The raptor suffered a broken right wing, possibly when it flew into a utility pole wire last month near Bay Pines VA Medical Center in Pinellas County.

The bird was rescued after hopping around a residential street and taken to the birds of prey center for surgery and rehabilitation.

He weathered surgery well, receiving two pins in different parts of its wing. Normally, such injuries mean a life of captivity being hand-fed and probably never flying again. But Eagle 515 looks to be different, Flynt said. The eagle may fly again and may hunt his own food again.

"There's still a chance," she said. "We continue to believe in miracles, and this might be a miracle. When you fracture both the radius and ulna, it makes it a lot harder. He's got a lot of rehabilitation ahead of him. We're going to give it our best shot."

One of the mends isn't healing as quickly as it should, she said. Eagle 515 is scheduled for X-rays tomorrow.

The young bald eagle was taken to the rehab facility Aug. 27. Since then, he was picked "bird of the month" at the center, Flynt said.

"He's got a great personality." she said. "Eagles are very full of themselves, and he's very full of himself. He's a 4-year-old, and he's not fully white-headed yet; he's not fully mature.

"He says, 'I'm big and I'm bad and I can hurt you,' " she said. "Yeah, he's feisty. That's a good word for him."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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