By Rick LaFrombois
Wausau Daily Herald
Tuesday, August 3, 2004

ANTIGO - Three eagles continue to thrive in the wild after they recovered from the West Nile virus, which bodes well for other raptors that have contracted the disease.

The eagles were released in January after being nursed back to health by staff members at Raptor Education Group International. The eagles were in shock, unable to fend for themselves and near death when they were brought to the Antigo rehabilitation center last year.

Now, the two immature eagles, a female, 3, and male, 4, are back to doing what's normal - roosting with other "teenagers" until they're old enough to search out a lifelong mate.

The third, an adult male, 5, has begun what appears to be a search for his significant other.

That eagle now resides in Canada, about 270 miles north of Minnesota, and is "doing really amazing things," staff members say.

He began his journey along the Mississippi River in Iowa after being released in Prairie du Sac. As the ice melted, he headed north.

In Canada, he's found great eagle habitat and continues to put up to 100 miles a day beneath his wings, said Nick Derene, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point graduate student who found the eagle near a lake in Stevens Point.

That means the eagle is playing the field, searching for his perfect mate.

And it's also a good indicator that eagles can recover from a near-crippling virus and live a normal life, which can last 30 or more years in the wild.

"Since a majority of birds of prey have possibly been (affected), this is good news," Derene said in an e-mail updating the bird's whereabouts.

Derene and Marge Gibson, executive director of the Raptor Education Group, continue to observe the eagles' movements with the use of satellite and radio transmitters strapped to the eagles' backs.

The two immature eagles found homes on the shores of two great lakes. The immature female is hanging around with at least 10 other eagles at a bay northeast of Escanaba on Lake Michigan.

"She is doing exactly what a healthy eagle her age should be doing," Derene said.

The immature male decided that the pristine shores of Lake Superior suited him well. And he did so in a hurry after spending months in one spot - two square miles just north of Baraboo. Within two days, he flew about 200 miles and can be found hanging out on Superior's shores near Munising, Mich.

West Nile almost always is fatal in birds. The eagles are among the first known to have recovered from the seasonal infection transmitted by mosquitoes.

Derene and Gibson will continue to monitor the long-term effects of West Nile on the eagles. And they say their research could indicate how humans might react to the virus over time.

The first outbreak of West Nile in the contiguous 48 states occurred in 1999. The virus since has spread among mosquitoes, birds, horses and humans - and many other animals - and has appeared in every state. About two in every 10 people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will contract the illness.

The illness usually is mild but can lead to death. Out of 8,977 human cases of West Nile reported in 2003, 218 people died. There were 13 reported cases of West Nile in Wisconsin and no deaths.

As of last week, there have been no reported cases of West Nile in humans this year in Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Health & Family Services Web site. There have been 58 reported cases of West Nile in birds.