A juvenile eagle that attacked a guest at Cascade Lodge and Restaurant in mid-August is doing well at the Raptor Center in Saint Paul.
Cascade Lodge and Restaurant Kitchen Manager Bernie Banks rescued a woman who got too close to an eagle who attacked her, latching onto her leg. Bernie threw his chef ’s coat over the eagle and pulled it off of the woman. Neither the woman, who had minor scratches on her leg, nor Bernie, were hurt, but the eagle’s sharp talons shredded Bernie’s chef coat.
The next day, on Friday, August 14, the eagle was captured 18 miles away near Taconite Harbor by a wildlife technician working for the Superior National Forest. They brought it to the Duluth Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The center’s mission is to help orphaned, sick, or injured animals return to their habitats.
Following an examination of the eagle at Duluth Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation, the bird was transferred to the Raptor Center for further evaluation.
When asked about the eagle’s well being, Julia Ponder, DVM MPH, Executive Director of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota, replied, “The eagle from the North Shore is still with us. It was treated for some minor issues and is currently being evaluated for behavior. It is being housed with other immature eagles and has very limited interactions with humans except when necessary.
“We are watching for both normal behavior around other eagles and how it reacts and behaves when humans are around. If it behaves normally in each of these circumstances now that it is healthy, it will be test flown (no reason to believe it does not have normal flight at this time) and reconditioned for release.”
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