{"id":778170,"date":"2026-07-03T18:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778170\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T18:31:11","slug":"humpty-a-bald-eagle-who-fell-into-care-at-mars-wildlife-rescue-has-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778170\/","title":{"rendered":"Humpty, a bald eagle who fell into care at MARS Wildlife Rescue, has died"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A bald eagle that was given a second chance at life as an ambassador for a Vancouver Island wildlife rescue has died after his health deteriorated over the past year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Humpty, the eagle ambassador for MARS Wildlife Rescue in Merville, passed away on Canada Day after residing at the rescue centre for more than a decade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bird was dubbed Humpty because he was discovered in 2015 several days after having taken a great fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy the time he was found, he was severely emaciated, dehydrated, and likely suffering from heat stroke,\u201d MARS said in a social media post. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the odds against him, the eagle made a remarkable comeback thanks to the care and skill of MARS staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUnlike the nursery rhyme, our rehabilitators truly did manage to put Humpty back together again,\u201d the rescue said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/cheknews.ca\/island-wildlife-centre-urges-residents-not-to-feed-animals-after-more-than-50-of-patients-were-fed-1328665\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/cheknews.ca\/island-wildlife-centre-urges-residents-not-to-feed-animals-after-more-than-50-of-patients-were-fed-1328665\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Island wildlife centre urges residents not to feed animals after more than 50% of patients were fed<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Humpty became a mainstay at the Merville wildlife centre over the next decade, entertaining hundreds of visitors and becoming known for \u201chis gentle nature, his goofy honks, and feathers that made him look as though he\u2019d just rolled out of bed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in the last 12 months, the eagle started to suffer from various medical issues that impacted his neurological function and overall health, and despite veterinarians\u2019 efforts to ease his suffering, his condition became worse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith great sadness, Humpty was peacefully laid to rest on Wednesday, July 1, surrounded by people who loved and cherished him,\u201d MARS said, adding that Humpty\u2019s legacy will live on through his impact to the community.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSoar high and fly free, Humpty,\u201d MARS wrote. \u201cYou will forever hold a special place in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/cheknews.ca\/four-legged-emu-that-captures-hearts-on-vancouver-island-euthanized-after-sudden-decline-1333182\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Four-legged emu that captures hearts on Vancouver Island euthanized after sudden decline<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bald eagle that was given a second chance at life as an ambassador for a Vancouver Island&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-778170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}