Medford, Ore., — Filming with John Denver and an appearance in a Disney movie won’t be the only reason a local eagle has earned some fame.
Phoenix the Golden Eagle, who calls Wildlife Images home, will be receiving a rare cataract surgery and lens transplant tomorrow by Animal Specialty Opthamologist, Dr. Cassandra Bliss.
She said Wildlife Images was worried when the bird was losing weight and was getting scared by handlers. But she soon discovered the problem.
“I was able to go look at him a few weeks ago and realized he had developed a complete cataract, which means he had lost all vision in one of his eyes,” Bliss said. “So our hope is that by restoring vision in this eye he’ll begin to hunt again, eat normally and his behavior will return to normal.”
Bliss said the surgery is similar to human cataract surgery and would normally cost almost $4,000.
However, I-Med Animal Health made the donation of the artificial lens and she is doing the surgery pro bono to help Phoenix feel better.
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