(VIDEO) Injured eagle makes full recovery

An injured eagle found near Black Diamond has made a full recovery.

In early July, local veterinarian Dr. Judith Samson-French watched as a coyote approached the bird, picked it up by its head, and shook it around.

Dr. Samson-French believed the eagle had been poisoned by rodenticide that had been spread in the area, which was why it allowed the coyote to approach it.

Seeing that it was still alive, she wrapped the eagle in a blanket and brought it to the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC).

On top of the potential poison, she feared the eagle may have suffered a skull fracture from its encounter.

AIWC rehab manager Jenna Anthony says the bird's rehabilitation mostly consisted of treating its wounds from the coyote.

"We weren't able to figure out why he was grounded to begin with, so all we were able to do was treat his wounds... we were also worried about a skull fracture but we did pull x-rays and it turned out that it did not puncture that deep so it was a pretty superficial puncture wound on the head and face."

All in all, he was out in under a month.

"He did have a pretty quick turnaround. He didn't sustain any major injuries so it wasn't unusual that he bounced back so quickly. We do try to get them out as quickly as possible. As soon as they show they're ready to go we try to get them out," says Anthony.

Before his release, they took him for a little test flight.

"Once his wounds were under control, we assessed his flight inside in a large flight enclosure and then we just monitored him for normal behaviour, so we wanted to see if he was perching, flying, acting normal and able to perform his natural behaviours."

This was somewhat of a unique case for the AIWC, as they usually get only four or five eagles a year, and they usually come in during the colder months.