A Flash of Light

I must admit (given recent eye operations of my own) that I was intrigued to hear that a female Golden eagle (Electra) has had the first cataract operation performed on that species by a vet (Mr George Peplinski) at Glasgow University (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7239793.stm). Electra apparently lost her sight after being mobbed by crows (a normal defensive response by that species that makes a surprise attack by the eagle impossible) and driven (by accident I am sure- crows are intelligent but not so devious) into electricity pylons on the island of Mull. The eagle was initially 'taken into care' by the 'Wings Over Mull' sanctuary who discovered that she did not respond to movement and had cataracts in both eyes (presumably caused by the electrical contact). It is not easy to do this kind of operation on a bird of prey as they do not respond well to traditional anaesthetics and the eye ball does not move very much in the socket. The operation was successful on one eye but was not attempted on the other as there appeared to be retinal damage. A one-eyed eagle could not be released as they depend on their visual acuity and ability to judge distance to hunt effectively. Electra has now gone back to 'Wings Over Mull' where she will presumably spend the rest of her life. The intention is to try to mate her with a male who has been taken into the same centre with a broken wing. I suppose that this is the best that can be done with a difficult situation and humans effectively created the problem by building the pylon.