A bald eagle sickened by rat poisoning was recently released back into the wild after successful treatment at Willowbrook Wildlife Center. (Courtesy of Willowbrook Wildlife Center, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County)

More than a month after a bald eagle was brought to Willowbrook Wildlife Center, bleeding profusely from what turned out to be an incidental ingestion of rat poison, the bird’s caretakers got their hoped-for happy ending.

The raptor was recently pronounced healthy enough for release back into the wild and was set free in the same Cook County forest preserve from which it had been rescued in distress on New Year’s Day. The eagle quickly reunited with its mate, who was still waiting around despite the lengthy separation. Wildlife experts are hopeful the pair will have a successful breeding season.

The thrilling release was captured by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, which oversees the treatment and rehab facility at Willowbrook.

The plight of the bald eagle, and later a snowy owl brought to the center suffering from similar symptoms, drew attention to the dangers of using a type of poison known as anticoagulant rodenticide. Though the targets of these pesticides are typically rats and mice, the active ingredients in the poison are so potent, they can cause serious unintended harm to creatures like raptors, which don’t need to consume the poison directly — it’s enough to eat the rodents that did.

Anticoagulant rodenticides work by inhibiting an enzyme that helps recycle vitamin K, which is necessary for clotting. No enzyme means a body’s vitamin K will eventually run out; no vitamin K means no clotting. The slightest cut can result in a severe loss of blood, which is what happened with the eagle.

Fortunately, doses of vitamin K brought the eagle back to health and it’s now back where it belongs.

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]