Eagle rescued from P.E.I. roadside soaring to recovery

An eagle at the Atlantic Veterinary College is on the road to recoveryafter being found emaciated on a roadside in Scotchfort, P.E.I., a few weeks ago.

"We always think, 'Oh, maybe it was hit by a car,' and so we did an exam and we didn't find anything other than emaciation,"said Fiep de Bie, a wildlife technician at the AVC.

"He was pretty weak, still had some fight in him, but fairly lethargic and very thin. The eagle weighed just over two kilos. That's very light for an eagle."

The eagle looks to be about two or three months old, de Bie said.

"When they're very young and between like two and three months old, they have little tufts on their flight feathers, and that's what this eagle has."

The best thing is releasing them to the wild. Fiep de Bie, AVC

It's hard to tell what happened to the eagle, de Bie said.

"We thought, 'Oh gosh, this is really an amazing young eagle that wasn't able to find any food or lost his parents along the way,' but we don't know what really happened."

Eagle heading to N.S.

Once the eagle is healthy enough, it will be moved to a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Nova Scotia,de Bie said, as it's best for the eagle to rehabilitate in a large flight cage with other eagles.

"The survival ratewould be much higher."

Those interested in the well-being of the eagle can monitor it from an online eagle cam, when it's at the rehab centre in Nova Scotia, de Bie said.

"They have different views of the flight cage, so you can see them flying, you see the eagles perched. Right now, we have another eagle from P.E.I. there and it seems to be a real hit on the cam."

De Bie said she enjoys working with eagles.

"It's fabulous. They all have different personalities. Some are friendly and others are not friendly at all, they are real fighters and biters, but it's just really a privilege to work so closely with eagles and see their progress," she said.

"And then of course, the best thing is releasing them to the wild."

More from CBC P.E.I.