For 23 years the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana, located at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, has been helping the state’s feathered residents recuperate from gunshot wounds, broken wings and various other ailments.
The hospital is the only facility in the state staffed with personnel qualified to properly treat birds, most of which are brought to the hospital by concerned citizens and animal control.
Dr. Mark Mitchell, director of the hospital, said the clinic treats approximately 1,800 birds annually.
According to the hospital’s Web site, the increase of human expansion into the wild has strained many animal populations and causes a 15 percent annual increase in the number of birds the hospital treats.
Mitchell said about 40 percent of the birds they receive are able to recover enough to return to the wild.
“We try to fix the birds so they can be released,” Mitchell said. “If we can’t fix the bird, it is either euthanized or we send it to be a part of our educational program.”
The hospital maintains The Raptor and Wildlife Rehabilitation Unit, which is used to help injured or debilitated birds.
The unit also houses birds used in educational demonstrations at area schools and various functions.
The educational bird facility includes a bald eagle named Hannah, a barn owl named Athena, a red-shouldered hawk named Indie, a turkey vulture named Sydney and a red-tailed hawk named Morgan.
“Morgan is a favorite around here,” Mitchell said. “She’s been here the longest and is over 20 years old.”
All of the educational birds have permanent wing injuries, which prevent them from being released.
Morgan and Athena have full wing amputations while Hannah, a gunshot victim, has a partial wing amputation.
Many people may be surprised to find a bald eagle in Louisiana, but Mitchell said every November around 200 bald eagles come to Louisiana to nest. The clinic has treated 6 bald eagles in the past year, he said.
Two of the eagles were infected with West Nile virus, which is fatal to birds.
Mitchell said before releasing a bird back into the wild, it first must be able to fly and catch food on its own.
The birds practice these tasks in a flight cage designed for bird rehabilitation.
“They can get used to being fed regularly and must relearn how to catch prey,” Mitchell said.
Birds of prey eat many things, including other birds, small and large mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects.
The hospital does not just help birds, but people as well.
Mitchell said that blood-work from a sick bird can provide valuable information about diseases and toxins in the environment that may affect humans.
If anything harmful to humans is found in a sick bird, precautions can be taken to ensure that people will not get sick as well.
The Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana currently has plans for the construction of a new facility freestanding from the School of Veterinary Medicine, which is under bidding.
The new hospital will have a flight cage on the roof, an educational wing for demonstrations and will serve as the primary wildlife education, rehabilitation and research facility in the state.