[I'll probably regret posting this but what the heck--it won't be the first time and it probably won't be the last that I stick my nose in where it probably doesn't belong]. I've been looking for some sort of explanation on the internet for USFWS policy on rescuing injured animals found on their land and didn't really find anything definitive other than they support contacting wildlife rehabilitation experts in the area where the injured animal is found: I found the following statement on one of their web links: "We often receive phone calls from concerned individuals asking what to do with an injured or baby animal they have discovered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not provide wildlife rehabilitation or nuisance wildlife capture services. Our role is to provide permits to those who rehabilitate endangered, threatened, or otherwise federally protected species, like migratory birds."
To me the interesting part of the RRP statement yesterday was this: "RRP is just a guest at this refuge with our cameras and all we can do is report issues as we see them and go through the proper procedures with the agencies involved." The most interesting part of the UWFS manager's statement was this: "It appears the eagle is molting and thus flightless at this time.... As soon as its primary flight feathers come in, it should be able to fly again. It is also a juvenile bird and likely a little disoriented. We'll keep an eye on it." What training about bald eagle physiology was his analysis based on? How long did he think it was going to be before the flight feathers came in? Did he think it was okay for the juvenile to just stay in one spot in the river water until then? What does he mean by "disoriented"? If they didn't think RRP could be given a permit to rescue the eagle or contact the appropriate people to get involved in the rescue, why didn't the Forest Service themselves contact the Coulee Region Humane Society in LaCrosse? Or look at this map from WI DNR about rehab centers all over the state: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/directory.html. Until we get the final statement about this whole unfortunate event from RRP, there are more questions than answers for me.
I did find this article from National Geographic that does a good job of explaining the dilemma: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/05/160523-when-to-rescue-wild-animals/
Finn, thank you for your well written and well thought out post! This obviously has been an emotional experience for many of us. We inherently know that wildlife is wildlife and as BL said, these kinds of things have been happening since the beginning of time. It's just that we now have a window seat to observe it firsthand in a way never before possible. I think many of us were frustrated because we followed what we thought were the proper channels to report and document the distress the juvenile was in, but it didn't provide the assistance we thought it should/would. I thought if someplace was designated as a 'refuge' that meant not only was the land protected for wildlife, but assistance in extreme circumstances would be provided if it became necessary. Evidently, that is not the case. The National Geographic article summed it up with this:
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The rule of thumb is that if human activity causes an animal to become injured or orphaned, we may intervene. If not?if it?s something that happened naturally?then we don?t,? says ecologist Doug Smith, who oversees Yellowstone?s wolf and avian management.
The simple truth is, RRP is a caring and compassionate organization because of its founder, Bob Anderson. Even though it's grown over the years, the same basic love of nature and its creatures still applies. However, when you're dealing with a large government organization, such as the USFWS, their responsibility ends at providing the protected spaces and educating the public about conservation and preservation. There is no human thought process as there is with RRP, and definitely no emotion involved. Lesson learned unfortunately.
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Topic: Flyway Cam NFWR La Crosse (Read 391872 times)