1 minute read – 

In the remote, fly-in community of Old Crow, on the Traditional Territories of Vuntut Gwitchin First Nations a juvenile bald eagle was found by Robert, at the dump, flightless and injured. The eagle was coaxed into a crate and eventually brought to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve after it made a stop in Dawson and caught a flight via Air North.  

The bald eagle, thak tth’ak came to the Preserve’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre on May 10th underweight (4.3kg) and with a OD (medical term for right eye) chronic corneal ulcer. 

Likely a she, given the large size of the animal. She has gained sufficient weight, coming in at 4.83kg. She has been viewable in the aviary as she works to build up flight muscles. Now she is ready for her public release back to the wild this Friday. She has a cloudy eye but has been successful catching live food and as a predominantly scavenging animal she is likely to do quite alright back in the wild even with this limitation.

She will not be returned to Old Crow due to the long travel and stress concerns related to transfer. Instead, she was released outside of Whitehorse on Friday June 14th at 7pm. 

Around 40 people joined the event to send off the bird. Thank you to everyone who joined the release, it was a perfect evening. The sky welcomed us all without a drop of rain. Thank you to all who provided good vibes and sent off the eagle with strength and grace.

Thank you to Wylie, Corrine, and Thay K’i Anint’l for the prayer and blessing for this bird’s return to the wild and resilience for a long eagle life. 

Thank you to everyone who helped this Eagle along its path to recovery. To Robert K who found the bird and ensured it got a second chance at life. To Norma, to the team at the Preserve that helped with the bird release event. To Air North for giving the bird some helping wings South to the Rehabiliation Centre.  Thank you, Masshi, Gunalchîsh

She took her time deciding to soar but this allowed everyone to share in more details of her story, to practice patience and to grow our appreciation of her and others’ incredible story of resilience. 

• • •

The beginning of June the Preserve welcomed a visitor who had, and later shared with us, an extraordinary experience with the eagle while it was recovering in the aviary. 

She shared with us the following:

I felt a very special spirit from her. A very conscious and intelligent bird.

I heard she didn’t have a name. 

Horus came to mind for me because of her eyes and her mystical spirit.

“Horus, in ancient Egyptian religion, a god in the form of a falcon whose right eye was the sun or morning star, representing power and quintessence, and whose left eye was the moon or evening star, representing healing.”

Help us get them back on their wings. We could use your help. If you are able to support the care of these two animals, please consider donating. Every contribution makes a difference and as a non-profit charitable organization, you can receive a charitable tax receipt for your support. 

Photo credit: B.Forsythe