PORT ANGELES — A bald eagle found shot in December was transferred from Sequim’s Greywolf Veterinary Hospital to the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center on Thursday to begin a rehabilitation program that will prepare it to return to the wild.

The male eagle had been in intensive veterinary care at Greywolf since it was discovered with a shattered wing near Beaver.

Jaye Moore, the raptor center’s director, performed the delicate transfer.

‘Very good chance’

“For the first time since we originally rescued the eagle, we feel comfortable saying that he has a very good chance to return to the wild,” said Matthew Randazzo, Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center spokesman.

“It might take many months of rehabilitation, but we’re very optimistic he’ll eventually fly free,” Randazzo added.

The Sequim-based raptor center is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation and rescue organization.

The bald eagle, a juvenile when it was shot, nearly died when the bullet fractured the ulna bone in its left wing.

A search for the person who illegally shot the national symbol continues.

Staff and volunteers with the raptor center built an 8-foot-by-8-foot wooden enclosure at Greywolf with a platform, perch and dunking pool for raptors with illnesses or wounds undergoing treatment from the hospital’s veterinarians, who volunteer their services.

The wounded eagle moved in after the enclosure was finished in February.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without Greywolf Veterinary Hospital in Sequim,” Moore said.

“We can’t thank Greywolf’s Dr. Mike Tyler, Dr. Jennifer Tavares, Dr. Maya Bewig and Angela Burns enough for their wonderful work on this eagle and countless other wild animals. They did a wonderful job.”

Multiple surgeries

The eagle underwent multiple surgeries to remove bone fragments from the fracture site and daily wound care, Bewig said.

“And we’ve taken out the dead tissue every day and re-bandaged [the wound],” said Bewig, adding that medicinal honey products donated by Anthony Moloney of Melcare Biomedical contributed to the eagle’s recovery.

Randazzo said the transfer went smoothly.

“It can be very dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing,” he said.

“Jaye is a master of it.”

An eagle’s talon can grip with a force three times as powerful as a bite from a rottweiler, Randazzo said.

“They can break any bone in Jaye’s body,” he said.

The eagle will remain at the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center for “at least a few months” until all of its feathers come back, Randazzo said.

“We’ve been working with Jaye on healing injured and sick wildlife here on the Olympic Peninsula for 20-odd years, and this is a nice, happy success story,” said Tyler, Greywolf Veterinary Hospital medical director.

“The key to making something like this work is having a rehabber like Jaye Moore who can work with an entire team of veterinary hospital staff to make sure this bird is happy, healthy and releasable.”

Video of the eagle being transported is available at www.tiny.cc/wqig1.

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.