“Lilly” the Wedge-tailed Eagle almost joined her meal of road kill when she was clipped by a car near Dalby, west of Toowoomba, last month.
Lilly’s leg was broken into three parts and the diagnosis would have been dire if it had not have been for the quick thinking of a passing motorist, some wildlife carers and an avian expert from The University of Queensland.
Originally taken to Australia Zoo, Lilly was picked up by wildlife carers Bert and Jacque Fraser. They rushed Lilly to UQ ‘s Small Animal Hospital when veterinarians realised the severity of the injury.
At the hospital, Lilly’s leg had a pin threaded through the three parts and an “external fixation” attached that stabilised the broken leg through interweaving pins.
Adjunct Professor Robert Doneley, who performed the surgery, said Lilly’s leg would take about two months to heal but rehabilitation would take much longer.
“If you let them go without rehabilitation they will die very quickly because of lack of fitness,” he said.
Lilly is now back in the care of the Frasers in Maleny where she will be released back into the wild after about six months of rehabilitation.
Professor Doneley said he saw up to six Wedge-tailed Eagles a year at his clinic in Toowoomba.
“Unfortunately it happens a lot because they [Wedge-tailed Eagles] are carrion eaters, so one of their main foods is road kill,” he said.
“And being large birds they are very slow to take off.”
UQ’s Small Animal Hospital paid for the surgery through its program for treating injured wildlife, which includes possums, exotic birds, snakes, lizards and the many other animals found in the surrounds of Brisbane.
The hospital spends up to $50,000 per year treating wild animals and up to $100,000 treating stray animals.
Professor Doneley said vet clinics, such as UQ’s Small Animal Hospital, and wildlife carers received injured wild animals daily but they had to pay for the surgery with their own money.
“A few years ago there was a survey that showed that Queensland vets spend three million dollars a year treating wildlife without any reimbursement from government,” he said.
Professor Doneley advised that if people found injured animals to contact their local vet and to also appreciate that vets treat wild animals “out of the goodness of their hearts”.
Media: For more information, contact Dr Chris Jensen (telephone 07 3365 3475, mobile 0413 734 427, email c.jensen@uq.edu.au) or Jacqui Fraser (telephone 07 5499 9057) or David Ashkanasy (telephone 07 3365 2339). For images of Lilly contact Diana Lilley (07 2265 2753 or d.lilley@uq.edu.au).
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