By Clare Ogilvie
Tutshi looks every part the king
of birds as his crooked claws clasp his perch and he surveys the land.
At any minute the six-year-old
bald eagle should spread his wings and take to the skies.
But Tutshi will never soar again
after crashing into power lines and breaking his wing. Six operations later,
his wing held together with steel pins, he is able to get around but Daniel
Johnson hopes this eagle, though crippled, will help him illustrate the
perilous life birds of prey face as human and raptor struggle to survive in the
same environment.
“The atmosphere for eagles is
better than it ever has been,” said Johnson, one of a handful of raptor
specialists allowed by the B.C. government to raise, hunt with, and
rehabilitate birds of prey.
“But also it is worse than it
has ever been because there are too many of us and not enough acres. There are
more and more boats, more and more jet skis, more RVs going to the wilderness,
more and more curious people, more and more snow machines, more and more
heli-skiing, and more and more rock climbing.”
Johnson, who has been working
with raptors for 30 years, and Sam White have come to the Edgewater Outdoor
Centre in Whistler to offer an interpretive talk on their understanding of
birds of prey after learning, watching and living with them in the wilderness
of northern B.C. and the Yukon.
Johnson and White will both live
in a teepee, often home to the raptors as well, while in Whistler. Near the tip
of the teepee, which will be used to give presentations to the public, small
red footprints can be seen making a path all the way around the fabric, a
little gift from Johnson’s toddler daughter Danyka.
The move to the resort was
partly motivated by the success Johnson had this past summer running
educational shows for cruise chip tourists out of Skagway.
“I think the average age of my
visitors was 62,” said Johnson as he gently moves the inside tarping of the
authentic teepee where guests will warm themselves, listen to a power point
presentation, and view historic articles telling of the long history of the
regal bald eagle.
“Most people are totally in
shock when they have done the tour because they didn’t realize that it was so
harsh out there for avian predators.”
He tells of the fight for
survival in the nest where it is not uncommon for the first-born chick, often a
few days older than the second, to kill its sibling in rivalry. Only one out of
seven bald eagles makes it to maturity and even though eagles can see a fish
below the water from several hundred feet U.S. research has found that only
about one out of every 18 attacks are successful. And in many cases older,
wiser raptors steal the catch of less experienced birds.
Along with Tutshi,
visitors
will meet
Princess, now in training
to be released near Brackendale in the coming weeks, and Tagish whose future is
still uncertain.
Johnson, who has been fascinated
with fowl since childhood, estimates he has rehabilitated around 50 birds. Most
are brought to him starving or injured and he coaxes them back from the brink.
“TV shows you that they are
invincible, that they can do anything,” said Johnson of the national bird of
the United States. “But we consistently see older birds that are in a broken
condition who need a little help and then they are off again. But if you don’t
give them that help they would never make it.”
Some have argued that it is
interfering with the natural cycle to save the birds, which can live up to 35
years in the wild and mate for life. But Johnson points out that a significant
number of the birds he sees are hit by cars while feeding on road kill, downed
by power lines or wind generators or have run into another human-related mishaps.
“They are never pets,” he said.
“You always know that when you get a bird you are just there to help it.”
Johnson believes there is a
hunger for knowledge about raptors and a passion for the birds he understands
all too easily.
He saw it in Mount Currie where
First Nations members offered him a safe haven when he first arrived in the
valley.
“That was a wonderful
experience,” said Johnson.
“I have had birds all my life,
they are thrilling and fascinating… and I know that when people leave our tours
they never look at a bird the same way.”
For more information on Wild
Eagle Experience at the Edgewater Outdoor Centre call 604-932-3389 or go to
Whistler Outdoor Experience Company at
www.whistleroutdoor.com
.