We got to meet Hope’s new ambassador with an incredible story ahead of an upcoming Hope for Wildlife open house. Meet Buddy
A few things we learned about this beautiful bald eagle as he adjusts to his new home as an educational ambassador.
He’s definitely over six, He’s mature. So over six or so and he could be quite older.
Hope for Wildlife has the updated file on his treatment while he was at UPEI and are housing Buddy accordingly.
“The doctor’s familiarizing herself with all the details. It’s a lot to learn for us. And when we get to know him we can add enrichments to match his temperament.”
He is in a 50 foot long cage, UPEI said the most he can fly is 28 feet. He’s figuring out the parameters.
He does have some evidence of maybe a head injury or something and he often holds his wings out.
“We were really concerned with the wings being held out all the time. But he does tuck them and we were a little worried about the cold. They’re fully equipped and we try not to humanize critters, they’re well equipped to handle exposure and it hasn’t been that cold. We did build him a little blind area where you can go into to get out of the elements but he hasn’t found it yet. We may introduce some evergreens too but we’ll take it slow and easy.”
“We want him.to be used to certain voices, to people that are here every single day and we actually would like it to be all about enrichment and giving him a quality of life. That’s not going to be easy. So we want to try, we have a Falconer on board to try and see if we could eventually train him to a glove where he could come out and do walks about and go into schools.”
He’s eating about 450 grams, but he gets a little extra at times, At this point in his development there’s not worry about him putting on a little extra weight because it’s cold and it’s winter.
“The more we can connect young people to their natural world and learn about it, to see the beauty of it, the bette. It’s a delicate balance to make sure Buddy is happy and make sure the public learns and it can’t come at the cost of the other but i’m hoping we can.”
“UPEI knew after about a year of trying, maybe eight or nine months of TRYING, that he would never have full flight.” Buddy came from PEI to his permanent home with Hope for Wildlife.
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**** Info via Hope for Wildlife
One incredible journey. Welcome home, Buddy the Bald Eagle!
In October of 2021, Buddy was found injured and suspected of being hit by a car. He had suffered severe head, wing, and spine trauma – the last of which gave him partial paralysis in his legs. Being from the province of Prince Edward Island, he was brought to the Atlantic Veterinary College’s Wildlife Service. The vets there did a spinal procedure for him that was the second of its kind in the world. Within a week, Buddy was able to stand on his own again.
But Buddy’s recovery was far from over. Months passed as he was treated for and healed from his multiple injuries. His spirit was strong, and over time, little by little, Buddy improved. Sadly, it became apparent that the nature of his injuries would prevent him from going back into the wild.
In partnership with the AVC and UPEI, and with the additional support of tons of generous donors, Hope for Wildlife has given Buddy a permanent home away from home. On Friday, he moved into his giant new enclosure – built specifically for him! (It even has a ocean view). In the near future as we learn Buddy’s capabilities and preferences, we will continue to enrich his home to his needs and his liking.
Everyone is welcome to come and visit Buddy on Saturdays from 12PM to 3PM!
