and the fact that she would never fly again, we were
thrilled to accept Mary-Lou as a permanent member of
our family here at Eagle Encounters. We placed her in
our education and eco-tourism programmes, where she
became an ambassador for her own species, as well as
for the plight of other persecuted raptors.
Unfortunately, during her stay with us Mary-Lou broke
her leg whilst attempting to flee the sound of barking
dogs. Had she been in better physical condition, this
type of incident would not normally have resulted in so
severe an injury. During a routine surgical operation, a
pin was inserted to hold the leg bone in place during
the healing process, however her extreme calcium deficiency ultimately prevented the bone from knitting together. Inevitably, her low immune system could not
deter infection from setting into the unhealed break.
We sought the medical opinion of 3 veterinary surgeons, who each advised us that Mary-Lou’s prognosis
for recovery was hopeless. Tragically, the poor nutrition that she had received from when she was a chick
did not even afford her a fighting chance!
In her 10 short months of life, Mary-Lou had endured
so much. I can only hope that she touched the lives of
those who had the great privilege of meeting her, in
the way that she touched ours. In her memory, we
would like to make another appeal to the public to
please not remove birds of prey from their nests . These
are not pets – they are specialized creatures that require very specific care. Please grant them the precious
gift of survival that was denied our Mary-Lou, by leav-
ing them in the wild where they belong.
Should you find an injured, poisoned or abandoned
juvenile bird of prey, please place it in a dark box (with
pin-size air vents near the base) and hand it into the
care of an expert.
Out to Lunch with the Secreta