SPORTS

Long asks National Zoo to help save injured bald eagle in Springfield

Wes Johnson
WJOHNSON@NEWS-LEADER.COM
An injured bald eagle, rescued last month from Laclede County, is blind in its left eye.

That blind-in-one eye bald eagle at Dickerson Park Zoo probably didn't see this coming.

U.S. Rep. Billy Long has asked the director of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to help find a home for the injured eagle, which was rescued from LaClede County a month ago and brought to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield.

In an email to the News-Leader on Wednesday morning, Long said he reached out to his friend, National Zoo Director Dennis Kelly, for help.

"I actually texted him as soon as I saw your story at 6:11AM EST and he responded with 'I will look into this. Maybe we can help in some way. My staff is calling Dickerson Park Zoo today to explore several options. I will update you as soon as we know more'," Long wrote in his email.

Long also tweeted that he had contacted the National Zoo for help.

Dickerson Park Zoo officials say the adult eagle is healthy but can't be released into the wild because it wouldn't survive without vision in its left eye. It's not known how the bird's eye was damaged.

The zoo now has 180 days to find a home for the eagle. If it can't, the bird will have to be euthanized, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regulations. Dickerson Park Zoo already has two bald eagles and doesn't have room for a third, according to zoo staff veterinarian Rodney Schnellbacher.