The acting parks manager for the City of Thunder Bay says the people who broke into a bald eagle enclosure at Chippewa Park and allowed the bird to escape may have written its death sentence.
"If it's tired or it's sitting on the ground, then it's prey to a coyote or a wolf or whatever wild animal," said Gordon John in an interview Monday with tbnewswatch.com.
John said the bird has lived at the wildlife exhibit since it was acquired as a chick 10 years ago. It cannot fend for itself because it is not trained to catch prey, and can't fly very far.
The break-in occurred sometime between Thursday evening and early Friday morning.
"They either scaled or crawled under the fence at our compound, then made their way to the eagle pen and smashed off" an elaborate cast-iron locking mechanism, John said.
The culprits then used a park ladder to climb on top of the chain-link enclosure which is "20 feet or higher, and they climbed up there and undid all the chain-link facing to make a gaping hole and let the bird fly out," he said.
"These people may have good intentions of setting something free ... but this bird was born in captivity and will tire very quickly I am sure."
That will make it vulnerable to one of any number of animals that inhabit the Chippewa area.
The eagle is part of a mating pair, and John said its mate has been constantly crying out for it since the bird was released.
He said that park staff are disappointed and saddened by the loss of one of the creatures they are responsible for, adding that caretakers develop attachments to the animals they tend to.
Anyone spotting a bald eagle in distress, or one that is on the ground in the vicinity of Chippewa Park, is asked to contact the city's 24-hour dispatch line at 625-2195.
