‘Awful-Smelling,’ Goo-Covered Bald Eagle Saved from Dump and Released into the Wild After 4 Rounds of Cleaning

NEED TO KNOW

A bald eagle was rescued after it was found covered in a sticky, “goo”-like substance at a landfill on Aug. 31

It was initially believed to have a broken wing, but was found to be healthy save for the goo covering its feathers

The eagle was released back into the wild weeks after the rescue following four rounds of cleaning

A “goo-covered” bald eagle found at a landfill got a good scrubbing before a Canadian wildlife rehabilitation center released it back into the wild.

Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge took the bird in after a landfill supervisor found it at a garbage dump in Brantford, Ontario, on Aug. 31, and released it a couple of weeks later after some serious cleaning, according to CTV News and the refuge’s social media posts.

The dump employee first reported the bald eagle to bylaw officers, who found the bird—covered in a mysterious sticky substance, unable to fly, and running around—deep in the Brantford dump, cornered it, and wrapped it in a jacket, per CTV News.

Concerned it may have a broken wing, the officers then contacted Hobbitstee, a wildlife rehabilitation center in nearby Haldimand, Ontario, the outlet reported.

X-rays revealed that the eagle had no injuries, Chantal Theijn, an authorized wildlife custodian, told CTV News. Meanwhile, identifying what the “mysterious,” “goo”-like substance covering the bird’s feathers was proved more difficult. Theijn told the outlet it was likely a mixture of substances found in a landfill like the Brantford dump, and it did not seem toxic.

“Well, I did not have washing a garbage dump goo-covered eagle on my bingo-card, but here we are… This poor eagle arrived absolutely covered in awful-smelling goo down to her skin,” reads a Sept. 1 Facebook post from Hobbitstee. “Even all her down was sticking together.”

“Hopefully she’ll feel better when she is dry,” the wildlife rehab center’s post read. “In the meantime I have a feeling she is plotting my untimely demise in great detail.”

The goo-covered eagle was bathed and dried in an incubator overnight, Theijn told CTV News after the rescue, noting that the bird would need multiple baths to remove the goo — plus time to recover from the soap used, which renders the eagle’s wings temporarily flightless.

“It’s going to take a good couple of weeks, if not longer, for her to be a fully flighted eagle again,” Theijn told CTV News — and her assessment proved correct. 

Bald eagle found covered in ‘goo’ in a landfill in Canada on Aug. 31 is released back into the wild
Credit: Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge/Facebook

Bald eagle found covered in ‘goo’ in a landfill in Canada on Aug. 31 is released back into the wild
Credit: Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge/Facebook

Hobbitstee announced on Facebook on Sept. 17 that the now goo-less eagle — which Theijn estimated to be more than five years old, and in the “prime of her life” — had been released back into the wild after multiple rounds of cleaning and weeks of recovery.

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“The goo-covered eagle in our care returned to the wild today,” the wildlife rehab center wrote on Facebook alongside a video of the bird taking flight. “After 4 washes her plumage was clean and she spent a considerable amount of time preening to return her plumage to flighted status.”

The center further noted: “It was a delight to see her go free.”

PEOPLE has reached out to Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge for additional comment.

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