By Pete McIntyre

Eagles rescued by firemen in Okanagan

Jul 8, 2016 | 7:25 AM

VERNON — Rescuing eagles may not be in the job description of firefighters, but that was the case for North Westside Fire-Rescue this week.

Chief Jason Satterthwaite says the department was called by a resident concerned about an injured bald eagle in the bush near the Killiney Beach subdivision Wednesday night.
 
“That’s not really our mandate. I’m not sure if we are licensed to do something like that, or if our (WorkSafeBC) would cover us. So I let the guys know we’ve got a unique situation here, but we have to do something. They were willing to come out and lend a hand, and the four of us were able to capture it.”

Satterthwaite says based on advice from local wildlife expert Pete Wise, the crew used blankets to herd the eagle into a large dog crate.

“It was difficult because it still had flight capability. so every time we got close to it, it would fly five to six feet off the ground.”

The bird — which it was later determined was malnourished — is being nursed back to health by the South Okanagan Owl Rehabilitation Centre.

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“When they came out,  they couldn’t see any obvious injuries and recent feed back from them is it was malnourished, so maybe it was sick or got into some poisoned mice or something,” says Satterthwaite.

Once regaining its health, it’s hoped the eagle can be returned to the area for release.