Three weeks after being struck by a car traveling on State Road 56 between Madison and Brooksburg, the Bald Eagle that had been named “Maddie” passed away on Monday at the Red Wolf Sanctuary near Farmer’s Retreat.
“We did everything we could,” Paul Strasser of Red Wolf Sanctuary said. “We really enjoyed taking care of her and she had started to respond, but after seeing the amount of internal injuries, there was nothing that we could do to save her. Basically once the bird was hit, it was a dead animal.”
An examination of the bird after its death showed a ruptured kidney, a bruised sternum, and massive internal hemorrhaging. Paul Strasser said that because eagles only have one kidney, any thoughts of surgery were dismissed.
Paul Strasser said that he had spoken with eagle experts in Minnesota, who told him that eagles that have suffered injuries similar to “Maddie’s” are usually put to sleep within three days.
“She lasted three weeks,” Paul Strasser said. “She had started to respond with her leg, so we were hopeful, but there just wasn’t anything we could do. We did our best.”
Paul Strasser said that federal regulations mandate that the eagle be sent to the eagle repository in Colorado, where federal law allows members of Native American tribes to use the animal and its feathers for rituals.
Indiana Conservation Officer Steve Kinne, however, has been in contact with federal authorities and has asked permission to use the body for a museum mount, which would allow the bird to be kept in Switzerland County for everyone to see and appreciate.
The museum mount could be located at the public library, the high school, the courthouse, or any public location.