Injured osprey suffering from dislocated hip

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SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla.- An osprey injured after hanging in a tree earlier this week is now suffering from a dislocated hip, according to doctors at the Clinic for Wildlife Rehabilitation (CROW).

The young bird was taken there on Thursday after being rescued from a tree 50 feet in the air on Wednesday. WINK News showed you live as a tree service was able to free the bird, who was hanging upside down for more than 24 hours. The bird had fishing line tangled around its foot.

Doctors say the bird came in very dehydrated, thin and depressed after the whole ordeal. They also say she had a heart murmur, but that had dissipated by Friday morning.

On Friday, WINK News was there as the hospital director prepped the bird and then performed x-rays, which showed a dislocated hip. Dr. Heather Barron says that is a very serious injury for a bird, especially at such a young age. While her age could help her heal, half of ospreys don’t live beyond their first year.

Dr. Barron says, “she has a grave prognosis, I’d say 20 percent chance she’ll be able to make it back into the wild. But that’s what we do at CROW. We take the ones that no one else really wants to fix and we fix them.”

For now, staff will continue to monitor the bird’s progress over the next few weeks and allow her to rest in her cage.

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