Three eagles are missing from Dollywood’s Eagle Mountain Sanctuary after storm damage, with efforts underway to protect and relocate the birds.
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn — The CEO of the American Eagle Foundation said three eagles are missing from the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary at Dollywood after it was damaged in a storm over the weekend.
Following the storm damage to the aviary, CEO Lori Moore said the foundation has been working to protect the eagles. According to a social media post from Dollywood, a tree near Eagle Mountain Sanctuary was uprooted during the storms Saturday night into Sunday morning and the tree “compromised” the aviary.
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Moore said three resident eagles at the sanctuary were found outside the aviary and took flight. She said team members are deployed to track the birds. A distressed eagle received medical care and is recovering well, Moore said.
Moore said the foundation jumped into action as soon as it was notified by Dollywood. Over the course of the day on Sunday, when they started rounding up the birds. She said the eagles are non-releasable and they’re “out of their comfort zone.”
“We are tracking them…that can involve tracking them by foot and trying to follow them that way, that can be getting in the car and following them as they fly around,” Moore said. “That’s their home, so they generally don’t go too far, but it’s just done in a variety of truly old school methods of just bird watching.”
Moore said the eagles have an orange or black band on their legs and they are registered with UD Fish and Wildlife. If you think you spotted one of them, you’re asked to contact the foundation at eagles.org.
“We are endeared to these birds and especially these birds that we know that are non-releasable,” Moore said. “They count on us to help take care of them, so we want to continue to do so.”
All the eagles they secured were relocated to the American Eagle Foundation headquarters in Kodak. Moore said during their initial transport, the birds were taken indoors for evaluation. She said the avian care team is assessing each bird and then placing them within the outdoor aviaries at the headquarters.
Dollywood canceled all of its “Wings of America” shows on Sunday and Monday due to the damage to the sanctuary. Dollywood is closed Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of April.
The area near the aviary in the park is closed as necessary work is completed, Dollywood said.