High Desert Musuem euthanizes aging bald eagle
Published 1:20 pm Thursday, July 19, 2018
- Kokanee, front, was a bald eagle in the care of the High Desert Museum. He was euthanized Friday, July 13, 2018. (Submitted photo)
A bald eagle who had lived at the High Desert Museum for more than a decade was euthanized last week after its health began declining.
The museum announced Wednesday that Kokanee, a flightless bald eagle who came to the museum in 2005, was euthanized Friday, after its caretakers and a veterinarian determined that the bird was struggling with a variety of age-related ailments.
Kokanee came to the museum after being found on the ground in Florida with an injured wing, according to a news release from the High Desert Museum. The eagle underwent a partial wing amputation, which rendered him flightless and unable to survive in the wild. He came to Bend after spending time at two other wildlife sanctuaries, according to the release.
In the past year, Kokanee lost some mobility and eventually his eyesight. Museum caretakers recently observed that he was losing weight and his health was deteriorating, and chose to euthanize him after considering his quality of life going forward, according to the release.
During his 13 years in Bend, Kokanee lived in the museum’s Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center, which he shared with Charisma, a female American bald eagle who arrived at the Museum shortly after him. The two birds produced two unfertilized eggs together in 2016.
Kokanee loved the water feature in his exhibit, and swam in it nearly every day at about 5:30 p.m., according to the release. His favorite foods were rats, salmon heads and rainbow trout.