Soaring: Wildlife Rehabber Still Tracking Eagle In New York

It has been a while since I checked in with the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center (FFFWC) to see what they have been up to. Last week they had an interesting update on one of their rescue recovery and release projects.

The FFFWC is a 501(c)3 dedicated to helping injured and orphaned New York State wildlife. Its mission statement is "Let Wild be Wild". The goal with all of the animals they take in is to rehabilitate them with the end goal of returning them to their natural habitat.

Friends of the Feathered and Furry Has an Update on One of its Eagles

Their founder Missy Runyon set out on a mission to help wildlife and was instrumental in bringing awareness about wildlife struggles to so many of us. Sadly, Missy passed away two years ago but fortunately, her legacy continues through the programs and protocols that she put forth.

One of her focuses was lead poisoning of animals who hunt prey that may have come in contact with lead by no doing of their own. It was Missy who first introduced me to the trouble that lead in fishing lures and hunting ammo was doing to our eagle population. Missy was determined to get the lead out of the food chain for animals who eat prey.

SEE Also: Ophaned Fawns Released by New York Wildlife Center

The work on that continues and so does the healing at FFFWC for animals that have come in contact with lead causing them to often be completely debilated by the amount of lead they have ingested. Lead poisoning in eagles and other prey animals is still an ongoing issue. Luckily for some animals like in the case of "Schoharie" the eagle the healing goes on too.

SEE Also: Eagle Found Lying on Highway in the Snow

The FFFWC posted an update that Schoharie, an eagle that had been rehabbed at the FFFWC three years ago and then released back to live wild is still doing well. Some of the eagles that had been exposed to higher concentrations of lead were equipped with GPS trackers when they were released. Schoharie was one of those birds.

The GPS tracker signal that had been tracking Schoharie for almost three years lost signal this summer so there was some disappointment at the center that something might have happened. They were concerned due to the Canadian wildfires.

Schoharie had been summering in Canada each year he had been tracked. A happy ending though has been reported. Schoharie's tracker signal came back on and had stored his summer adventures. Schoharie has returned back to New York where he continues to be tracked.

SEE Also: Orphan Bear Cub taken to Wildlife Center in Hunter, New York

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