Lady Baltimore was a non-releasable
bald eagle
The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...
in the care of the non-profit
Juneau Raptor Center (JRC), in
Juneau, Alaska
Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...
. Lady Baltimore was found shot and injured on
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
's
Douglas Island in 2006. She had suffered injuries to her beak and one wing caused by a
poacher. The injury to her beak caused the
retina
The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...
in her left eye to become detached, blinding her in that eye. Because of these injuries she had no
depth perception
Depth perception is the ability to perceive distance to objects in the world using the visual system and visual perception. It is a major factor in perceiving the world in three dimensions.
Depth sensation is the corresponding term for non-hum ...
, and could not be released into the wild.
Life
Lady Baltimore was found after a failed poaching, which left her alive but severely injured. Volunteers with the Juneau Raptor Center rescued her, after an estimated 2 weeks of surviving her injuries on her own. JRC volunteers found her to be malnourished, and determined that she could not survive on her own, because her injuries caused her to aim her body poorly when flying and hunting.
Since then, Lady Baltimore had been cared for year-round by JRC. During the summer tourist season she was put on display as an educational animal in a
mew created and maintained by JRC, at the
Mount Roberts Tramway on
Mount Roberts.
New habitat, and relocation
In 2019, the Mount Roberts Tramway and other donors paid for a new mew. The new habitat was larger, and provided better viewing for both visitors as well as the eagle.
However, in 2022, Lady Baltimore's host, the
Juneau Raptor Center, ended operations. As a result, Lady Baltimore was moved along with one other eagle to the
Alaska Raptor Center
The Alaska Raptor Center, formerly the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, is a raptor rehabilitation center in Sitka in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located on a 17–acre campus bordering the Tongass National Forest and the Indian River. Th ...
in
Sitka.
Death
In February, 2024, staff at the Alaska Raptor Center discovered that Lady Baltimore's health had deteriorated to the point where she no longer had a good quality of life. She was subsequently euthanized.
See also
*
List of individual birds
This is a list of well-known real birds. For famous fictional birds, see list of fictional birds.
* Águia Vitória, a bald eagle who serves as the mascot for Portuguese football club S.L. Benfica
* Alex (parrot), Alex, a grey parrot wh ...
References
{{reflist
2006 in Alaska
2022 in Alaska
2024 animal deaths
Individual eagles
Juneau, Alaska
Individual birds in the United States