Bathed in the morning light... like a phoenix rising from the ashes. She is an unbelievably beautiful bird, with a mate and territory waiting for her return. From broken damsel in distress, she is most certainly a regal beauty now. While they may not look like it when perched, with all their feathers fluffed up, Long-crested Eagles have very long legs designed for pouncing down into long grass to catch rodents and other small animals. They specialize in hunting vlei rats. With formidable feet and talons, not much escapes direct contact.
Like all true eagles, they have feathers right down their legs to their feet. But Longcrested Eagle legs have another important feature - females have snowy white leggings, while males are often streaked or blotched with fine brown markings. The loss of her right eye has not slowed this bird down. While she still has a few more tests to go, we are confident that her age and experience more than make up for the loss of eyesight in the one eye.
We specialize in second chances. In this case, it is for the Longcrested Eagle which sustained a damaged eye and broken mandible after a vehicle strike. She is lucky to be alive, lucky to have been found and rescued, and lucky to have our dedicated team of vets and rehabbers willing to go the extra mile to see her get that second chance.
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