WAYNESBORO, Va.—
Injured eagles now have a place to spread their wings and fly. A brand new Eagle Pen at the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro opened Thursday.
It's 89 feet long by 16 feet wide and 23 feet high.
he new pen is used for rehabilitation and flight training for eagles, vultures and hawks.
The idea is to prepare the birds for a return to the wild.
"Part of the real challenge for them way we evaluate them is and their ability to hit these perches and stop at the end and judge distances," said Edward Clark, Wildlife Center of Virginia president. "In order to function in the wild they have to be very very precise in their movements in their flight."
There's also a balcony that offers a nesting spot for baby eagles.
"When we get young eagles that have been hatched but not yet fledged from the nest and last year we had eight birds like that need a place to put them to finish their development before they're ready to start flying but where they can watch adult eagles do normal normal eagle things," Clark said.
The cage also has an upper balcony where young eagles can continue developing in a nest and eventually o fly by watching the larger adults in the main area.
The pen is equipped with several mobile web cams. To see the eagle cam, click here.
For more information on the enclosure, click here.
