The Story of Jocko

Abstract

The story unfolds on Lake Superior, off the coast of the Upper Peninsula near Houghton, Michigan, on December 28, 1953. If it wasn't stormy, the odds are good, it was darned cold. This part of Michigan could well be incorporated into Canada!

And, the rescuers in this tale were people who liked ice fishing!

As reported by the Associated Press wire service, and carried

in several newspapers across the United States, "a bald eagle was sighted ... floundering around on the ice at Chassell Bay, in Lake Superior." The eagle was "walking lopsided" when spotted by fishermen.

A United Press wire story said fisherman found the eagle "lying crippled on Lake Superior ice; and believed the eagle had "probably [been] injured in a storm."

The eagle "wanted to be left alone," said the fishermen; "but Otto Ruotsi wooed [the bird into a boat] by feeding him raw rabbit meat."

Instead of being taken to an eagle rehabber, the fishermen delivered the eagle to Otto Ruotsi's shoe shop, in Chassell. Ruotsi decided to keep the bird and nurse it to health on Old Crow bourbon "whiskey and raw rabbits' feet." And when measured, the eagle had a wing span of 6 feet, 4 inches, and stood almost three feet tall. Ruotsi named the rescued eagle Jocko.

Today, an injured bald eagle would most likely not be tended to by good Samaritans, but rather by one of about 1,400 federally permitted migratory bird rehabilitators in the United States, said Alicia F. King, the Communication Coordinator and Urban Bird Treaty Coordinator for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Program. And today, an injured eagle would receive additional care from other professionals, like veterinarians.

One U.S. based organization dedicated to rehabilitating injured eagles is Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, located in Newark, Delaware.Tri-State opened nearly 37 years ago, and has a dedicated staff of volunteers who attend to injured birds; as well as a clinic staffed by two veterinarians and four assistants. The non-profit was born out of a serious need, and a serious accident.

According to Tri-State's website:

"On December 26, 1976, during one of the worst winters of the century, the Liberian tanker Olympic Games ran aground in the Delaware River. Oiled Canada geese were found walking on roadways three miles inland, searching.for open water. This spill was the sixth major oil spill in the Northeast region of the United States in a three-year period. Despite the efforts of many people, tens of thousands of animals died as the result of oil contamination."

"Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research was founded that winter for the purpose of establishing a multi-disciplinary team of wildlife biologists, veterinarians, pathologists, chemists and concerned citizens to study

the effects of oil on birds and develop protocols necessary to treat affected wildlife."

In a detailed email, Tri-State Executive Director Lisa Smith noted the center takes care of many eagles:

"We admit over 2,500 native wild birds every year for treatment, and the number of bald eagles we have seen has increased," wrote Smith.

"In the mid -1980s, when the bald eagle population was still quite low, if we got one eagle a year for treatment, it was worthy of a press release. Now that the population has rebounded so significantly, we routinely admit 40-50 eagles every year.

"Quite a number of these birds have been injured in territorial attacks by other eagles because, unfortunately, while their population was recovering, their habitat was shrinking due to development. Now there are many more eagles but fewer remote areas near water suitable for nesting.

"Lead poisoning continues to be a significant cause of injury in bald eagles," continued Smith.

"Eagles will often scavenge carcasses that contain lead shot or fragments of lead ammunition, and they become poisoned from eating the lead."