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ALASKA WILDBIRD REHABILITATION CENTER
1830 E. Parks Highway, A-113 #221
Wasilla, Alaska 99654

NEWS RELEASE                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For information contact:                                    November 25, 2006
Kent Briske (907) 230-7049
kbriske@gci.net

NEW WILD BIRD REHABILITATION CENTER SENDS BALD EAGLE HOME

This morning, with cheers from onlookers, the Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center released “Big Bird”, a bald eagle rescued by the rehabilitation center staff. 

On September 15, 2006 Big Bird was flying along the Glen Highway when she was struck by a car near the Pioneer Lodge in Willow.  The driver pulled off the road and with the help of the lodge staff member Jerry Gregory, contacted the Alaska State Troopers.  When Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center staff arrived, Big Bird was sitting between two trees on a rock.  Despite her injuries, she sat majestically as the rehab staff approached. 

The rehabilitation center staff and Jerry corralled the bird and covered her head with a blanket.  They gently loaded her into a kennel and took her back to the center.  Palmer Veterinarian, Dr. Wilson, inspected the bird at his office and treated her for a broken right humerus (wing).  Big Bird was then returned to the rehabilitation center for recovery. 

Over the past three months Big Bird has been carefully looked after and fed a diet of donated salmon, and quail and rats purchased through private donations.  “It is important for us to give back to the environment and care for the animals whose lives we endanger through our own actions.  These animals play an important role in our environment and our society as emblems of freedom” stated Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center’s Director, Kent Briske.   

After her full recovery and a Thanksgiving dinner fit for a national bird, Big Bird was released with Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center staff, volunteers and supporters looking on. 

Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center Inc.’s mission is to provide professional standards of animal care and rehabilitation to injured sick, or orphaned Alaskan wild birds; educate the public about wild birds; and provide a humane example for others.   The center operates out of its medical and rehabilitation facility on Prator Lake in Houston.  Partnerships with Palmer Veterinary Clinic provide professional veterinary expertise and health monitoring for sick, injured and orphaned birds.  Strong relationships with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, local and state law enforcement and the general public enabled the center to care for over 250 birds in the first year of service.    

* High quality digital photographs are available upon request.  Please contact Kent Briske, (907) 230-7049