Bald eagle rescued from Brantford, Ont., dump resembled ‘very smelly drowned rat,’ wildlife custodian says

A soaking wet bald eagle that was unable to fly was rescued from a Brantford, Ont., garbage dump and is recovering at a wildlife rehabilitation facility.

Bylaw officers had their struggles, but were finally able to get the eagle out of the Brantford Landfill Site Scale on Monday.

“As soon as we opened the box that she was in, the smell that came out of there was absolutely horrific. She basically resembled a very smelly drowned rat. She was soaked to the skin,” said Chantal Theijin, the authorized wildlife custodian at Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge in Nanticoke.

Theijin said the eagle was most likely scavenging at the dump when she got caught by heavy rains that swept parts of Ontario on Monday.

“It’s not unusual for our majestic eagles to hang out at the garbage dump.”

Rescue wasn’t an easy feat

Ian Harrower, supervisor of bylaw compliance with the City of Brantford, said he received a call about an eagle that wasn’t moving at the dump. He said it took around six people to rescue the stubborn bird.

Harrower said it was a “little adventure” for him and other staff, who probably didn’t expect to spend part of their Monday near wet garbage and mud while rescuing a bald eagle.

The bird couldn’t fly, so staff used dirt bikes to herd her towards people on foot who were trying to catch her, Harrower said.

“It did like to hop around a lot,” he said. “It did jump over a couple of creeks and streams that were passing through the dump area and going through some bushwork.”

Once they cornered the bird, Harrower said, he and other staff “threw their jackets onto it.”

The whole operation at the landfill took around 40 minutes, said Harrower.

“Usually, we deal with property standards, lawn grass and weeds, things — the typical bylaw complaints that we get,” he said.

“So [this] was just one of those new ones.”

He also said people at the landfill were concerned about the bird having a broken wing, which luckily didn’t end up being the case. The bird went to Hillside Kennels Animal Control, which then had one of its volunteers drive her to Hobbitstee.

Harrower said the rescue was a team effort, from “everyone from the landfill supervisor to the bylaw department, to Hobbitstee to Hillside.”

“We just we went out there. We got a plan together that worked out perfectly.”

Eagle’s feathers had mysterious ‘goo’

It’s not uncommon for Theijin and the Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge to rescue eagles. She said they see around one or two dozen of them every year.

She said she was surprised by the attention the eagle was getting.

The refuge takes in all sorts of wild animals, including squirrels, foxes and coyotes, and hawks and other birds at no charge.

It’s located on Nanticoke in Haldimand County, and Theijin said it runs solely on community donations.

The newest eagle at the refuge is expected to recover, but it could take two to four weeks, according to Theijin. X-rays and blood tests came back normal, but her feathers need time to mend.

Because the bird needed to be thoroughly washed and there was a mysterious, gross “goo” on her, the natural oil on her feathers was affected, Theijin said.

Despite being “reasonably patient” with staff caring for her, the eagle has a deathly stare she seems eager to use.

“I work with wildlife and pretty much all the animals that we have in care would prefer to kill me, and that is perfectly OK … That means that they’re recovering,” Theijin said.

“So in my world, I love to be hated.”