Beauty's big comeback

Janie Veltkamp, president and executive director of Birds Of Prey Northwest, met Beauty the bald eagle in Alaska. Beauty’s top beak had been shot off by a poacher and she had been left for dead, unable to feed herself.

Veltkamp brought Beauty back to Birds of Prey Northwest in Coeur d’Alene where she got a lot of advice to put the bird down. But she didn’t want to. She knew she could help Beauty.

With a degree in nursing, Veltkamp thought that if people use prosthetics, why can’t eagles? In 2008, she gathered a team of biologists, engineers and dentists to create and attach a prosthetic beak for Beauty.

“She has a unique temperament,” she said. “That’s why I took her case long ago. She’s not a real nervous bird and she seems like she knows we’re trying to help her.”

Now, National Geographic’s television channel, Nat Geo WILD, is featuring Veltkamp and Beauty on its show called “Unlikely Animal Friends.” The show airs on Nat Geo WILD on April 30 at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Beauty’s new beak is made of a very hard nylon derivative, Veltkamp said. But the hard part wasn’t making the beak. It was attaching it.

The prosthetic was put on using dental techniques, similar to having a crown on humans. It allows Beauty to eat, drink water, preen her feathers and go about her daily life.

However, this beak is temporary and Beauty will never be able to return to the wild. Like a fingernail, Beauty’s beak is slowly growing back, which pushes off the fitted prosthetic. Veltkamp said there are more stages planned for her. Currently, they are trying to find a different way to attach the prosthetic beak.

Beauty is now between beaks, waiting for a new, better-fitting beak. During this time, Veltkamp and other volunteers at Birds of Prey Northwest have to help Beauty preen her feathers.

Nat Geo WILD came to Birds of Prey Northwest last September to film Beauty and Veltkamp for the upcoming episode.

“Filming was brutal, I would much rather be a biologist,” Veltkamp said. “They were there filming for about 10 to 12 hours for what they told us would be an eight- to 10-minute segment. But it’s important that people understand Beauty’s story, how she got shot, how we’ve been putting a prosthetic beak on her for the future, and most importantly, how children can learn to conserve eagles and their habitat through her story.”

Birds of Prey Northwest rescues injured raptors and gives them medical treatment with the hope of returning them to the wild. According to Veltkamp, the two leading causes of death for bald eagles are by illegal gun-shot and lead poisoning.

“My position all along has been to bring in human help and save some of these birds that are injured permanently,” she said.

She added that when an eagle “falls from the sky,” it’s not really anybody’s job to take care of it. So, volunteer based nonprofits like Birds of Prey Northwest have programs to rescue these birds. They travel to schools with trained raptors to educate kids about birds of prey and their habitats. Birds of Prey Northwest also gives by appointment, public tours of their facility where people can meet Beauty.

Birds of Prey Northwest is completely donation dependent. It works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to rescue birds of prey. The USFWS dispatches its bird-rescue calls to Birds of Prey Northwest, so they can retrieve the bird and try to rehabilitate it.

For an emergency bird rescue of an eagle, hawk, owl, falcon or osprey, call Birds of Prey Northwest at (208) 245-1367 or (208) 582-0797.