People had to carry the motionless bird. His head rested on his wing. Rescuers rushed to cleanse his blood of the poison that was slowly strangling the life out of him.
This happens to bald eagles all the time. And Lynn Tompkins, executive director of Blue Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Oregon, has been trying to save them for 30 years.
“His head was upside down when we got him,” Tompkins told The Dodo. “Lead affects the nerves, so that’s your brain, your use of muscles, all parts of the body. The birds often cannot stand … They usually have difficulty breathing. They cannot even open their beaks.”