AN UNUSUAL guest checked in to the Waroona Veterinary Clinic on Friday.
Hugh the wedge-tailed eagle was picked up by the Waroona Wildlife Rescue and Release, after he attacked a local resident’s chickens.
He was taken to the clinic where staff checked him for injuries.
“We couldn’t find any broken bones, but he’s got a cataract in his right eye which we think may have caused him to walk into the road,” veterinary physician Rebecca Flegg said.
“Cataracts start off by making the vision blurry, so it would be hard to hunt or to see properly.
“There’s no cure, and this one will probably end up going to a raptor centre as he won’t be able to look after himself.”
The wedge-tailed eagle, otherwise known as an eaglehawk, is Australia’s largest bird of prey and feeds on rabbits and wallabies.
The bird is a nationally protected species and can live up to 20 years.
Due to his pointy head feathers staff named the bird Hugh, after actor Hugh Jackman’s X-Men character Wolverine.
Dr Flegg said the clinic had treated eagles before, but not for several years.
“They’re very smart birds,” she said.
