Lindsay’s Rescued Golden Eagle Struck by Wind Turbine
Statement from Lindsay Wildlife Experience on Death of Golden Eagle
WALNUT CREEK—A golden eagle rescued by firefighters in San Ramon in March, then cared for, rehabilitated and released by Lindsay Wildlife Hospital has died.
The eagle, outfitted with a satellite telemetry backpack put on by East Bay Regional Park District, was brought to Lindsay Wildlife Hospital Saturday, after being struck by a wind turbine in the Altamont Pass.
The bird was being tracked, in part, so that wildlife biologists with East Bay Regional Parks could study the flight patterns of eagles around the turbines.
When the golden eagle was released in May, it represented to all of us Lindsay’s mission: to connect these amazing wild animals with the public and teach us how important it is for them to be free. She was sent off in May with fanfare, complete with firefighters who rescued her, donors who support Lindsay’s work, biologists who studied her and doctors who healed her after she was brought to Lindsay with severe head trauma of an unknown cause.
But her death, while tragic, is not the end of the story. It will not dissuade us in the slightest from our mission to heal and release wildlife and to inspire all who see these magnificent creatures to do what they can to ensure their survival. Lindsay presses on because there is always another patient to treat. Our staff and volunteers show up day after day and care for and release these animals, giving them second and third chances. Without Lindsay that Golden Eagle wouldn’t have had her second chance.
Because of that second chance, she was able to provide East Bay Regional Park District Wildlife Program Manager Doug Bell with precious information on Golden Eagle flight paths and may ultimately contribute to a solution that saves others like her.
Your first thought may be anger, but there are no villains here. We live in a world with scarce resources, one that we are all trying to share with each other and with wildlife. We all share in the responsibility to use those resources wisely to continuously seek solutions that are protective of the creatures that make our world worth living in.
We ask that, in her memory, you join us in whatever way you can to protect and understand these animals before it’s too late. This is why Lindsay is essential— day after day, we give wildlife a second chance.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Elisabeth Nardi
(925) 627-2961