PVCC Puma Press: October 2004

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	Photo by Karen Sutton
	Cheyenne,a golden eagle at the Adobe Mountain Wildlife, passed away in August 2004. He helped the wildlife refuge with public education.
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When you read the word “eagle,” what comes to your mind?

Perhaps words like “freedom,” “strength,” “power,” “spirit,” “beauty” and “grace.” Images conveyed by these words are what eagles typically represent to many people, but an eagle can be so much more. This is the story of one great Golden Eagle, Cheyenne, and the lessons learned from him.

Several years ago, a young golden eagle was struck by a vehicle along Interstate 40 in Flagstaff. The animal was rescued by a person who witnessed the collision. The eagle, although young, scared, confused and in great pain, did not resist his human benefactor. Unfortunately, the person who rescued the bird also multiplied his trauma through unintentional actions.

The bird was taken to a local wildlife agency office and eventually transported to Adobe Mountain Wildlife in Phoenix, located at Interstate 17 and Pinnacle Peak. Adobe Mountain is composed mostly of volunteers and is used as a rehabilitation and education facility for wildlife.

At Adobe Mountain the bird’s condition was evaluated. He was found to have head trauma and loss of vision in one eye. Additionally, Cheyenne experienced horrific lung problems associated with his handling by his rescuer.

The injured eagle had to be confined to a hospital kennel for continuous breathing treatments, but still remained calm and collected enough to pick up an appetite.
Cheyenne never acted out or became aggressive as we would have expected and as we probably would have in his situation. The bird gained strength, and after several months of hospitalization, he was put into a holding pen —which is a small enclosure for a mighty eagle, but it would do.

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He had the beauty and grace to become part of an educational force, teaching the public about wildlife and conservation, and he inspired learning and art.
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Although completely blind in one eye, he could now enjoy being an eagle again—stretching his enormous wings, perching on large logs, eating lots of meat and enjoying the air and sun. It wasn't like soaring over the open land, but it was better than the hospital crate.

Eagles are not typically calm animals and are always considered dangerous. An eagle can cause grave injuries to a human being in a matter of seconds. They are unpredictable, usually easily upset and nervous, but not Cheyenne.

Cheyenne never minded the rakes and hoses involved in keeping his enclosure clean. He would just sit back and watch, one foot resting on his log, hoping that the caretaker had brought him a little pigeon. Of course Cheyenne deserved whatever he wanted and meals were never missed.

Cheyenne's diet consisted of donated elk, deer or javelina meat, pigeon, quail and rabbit (not live prey). Cheyenne was not particular about the type of meat he had, but he was very particular about how it was given to him. He would only eat his meat if it was completely thawed and completely cleaned —by this I mean all feathers, fur, etc. removed.

So, we humored him and plucked feathers and pulled fur from his entrees. For the most part, he considered the job we did shoddy, and no matter how long we took to prepare his meals perfectly, he always found room for error and would diligently sit and remove leftover fur or feathers that we so negligently missed. It was amazing to see such a large bird with a huge beak and enormous feet and talons remove one little feather from a small chunk of meat with the precision of tweezers.

Eventually Cheyenne was put into a real eagle enclosure, a large flight pen. Here he had lots of room to be an eagle, as much as a captive can hope to have. He could often be seen sitting on a big series of branches staring out to the I-17. Eventually, he was to become company for younger eagles that had also been injured.

Because birds learn from other birds, they learned where to eat, drink and had some familiarity due to his presence. He guided them into captive life until they could be placed in another facility or until they could be released to the wilds.

In August 2004, Cheyenne died suddenly at Adobe Mountain. He was sent to a facility for a necropsy (autopsy) in hopes of discovering what killed him and robbed us of his company. It is suspected that he died of respiratory problems associated with his prior injuries. We will very much miss him, his personality and his spirit.

Cheyenne represented everything one can envision about eagles, and perhaps what we can hope for ourselves. He had a great strength to survive; and he had the spirit to trust people again, even after we caused him pain. He had the beauty and grace to become part of an educational force, teaching the public about wildlife and conservation, and he inspired learning and art.

He was a familiar comfort to young eagles, also in the same situation he was in—hurt, scared and confused. He provided the rare opportunity for many of us to know and be in the company of an eagle. It was indeed a rare privilege.

Every now and then, an animal can grab a hold of you with all claws, paws or talons and not let go, which is the case of Cheyenne. Just know that the next time you see wildlife—either crossing the road or soaring above you, or the next time you read or see information about wildlife, they are more than numbers or statistics. Remember that you can learn from wildlife. Remember that wildlife can inspire you and that wildlife is worth your care and conservation.

Farewell Cheyenne