While it is not known how many wedge-tailed eagles get unlucky while playing Russian roulette with passing traffic as they feed on Outback roadkill, it is pretty certain that none of them survive the experience … or at least it was until now.
The luckiest bird on the planet, now named Apollo, is currently recovering in an aviary after being struck by a 60-tonne road train on the Nullarbor a week ago as it fed on a dead kangaroo. Veteran truckie and wildlife enthusiast, Lyndal Denny, just happened to be in the right place at the right time to witness the drama … and that was how Apollo got its big break.
“All I could see ahead of me was this poor eagle that went flying,” she told ABC Local Radio. “So, I turned around and went back and much to my amazement he was still alive; somehow he survived that encounter.”
Things didn’t look good for Apollo at first. PIC: Lyndal Denny
Ms Denny flagged down a pair of passing Dutch tourists, who helped wrap Apollo in a pink towel before driving to the nearest rest stop and calling for help.
“He was bleeding from his beak and his nose and I thought he was dead,” Ms Denny told the ABC. “Picking him up initially was like picking a child up by the shoulders … but he was very, very dazed. In fact I thought he would die; he was so dazed.”
Apollo is now being fed a diet of Scotch fillets by the owner of Eucla’s Amber Motel who is being advised on care for the juvenile bird by experts from Adelaide Zoo.
Apollo is expected to be released back into the wild in a few months when he is able to fend for himself.
Great story, there are too many road kill. ben
Thankyou for caring so much to go out of your way to save that beautiful bird..You have made my day.
Such a beautiful person / people to be able to rescue Apollo…..Thank you☺☺☺☺.