Injured eagle rescued at Lions Gate Bridge

A rare rescue occurred on Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge over the weekend.

An injured eagle landed on a busy bridge during rush hour on Saturday.

The West Vancouver Police Department says they and their Vancouver counterparts teamed up to capture the bird of prey and deliver it to the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society.

The Delta-based nonprofit rehabilitates birds of prey, including eagles, falcons, hawks, ospreys and owls, before releasing them back into the wild.

The rescued eagle has a damaged eye and is suffering from lead poisoning, Rob Hope, OWL CEO, told CTV News.

An injured eagle landed on Lions Gate Bridge on Saturday, January 4. (Courtesy: West Vancouver Police Department)He explained that eagles are often exposed to lead at this time of year when they forage for food and eat meat discarded during hunting season, which contains fragments of heavy metals left behind by the bullets.

“A small piece of lead, the size of a grain of rice, can kill an eagle,” Hope said. “Once they swallow it, it stays in their body and is very difficult to remove.”

The eagle is currently in quarantine and will undergo chelating treatment to help remove the lead, he said, adding that it is still too early to determine whether the bird will fully recover or not.

“He has a good chance, but unfortunately we can’t say it 100 percent, but we will definitely try to get him back into shape,” Hope said.

The facility estimates that a clearer diagnosis will be known in a week or two.