Beauty is an 8 year old American Bald Eagle rescued by Jane Fink Cantwell of the Birds of Prey NW located near Coeur dp'Alene, Idaho. Beauty was rescued two years ago in Alaska after she was found nearly dead and emaciated after a having her top beak shot off and left to die. The resulting damage from the bullet left Beauty with only a small portion of her left upper beak and nearly eliminated the majority of the right side. Consequently, with the inability to consume solid food, she has been sustained by being forcep-fed daily by her handlers at the Birds of Prey NW.
Birds of Prey NW is nearing 18 years of operation and is run by the love and dedication of Jane and the Birds of Prey volunteers as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Birds of Prey NW operates under special U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Idaho Department of Fish and Game permits. To help promote raptor awareness and conservation, Jane travels to schools in the western states with trained life birds of prey for purposes of education.
In cooperation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Jane accompanied Beauty who was flown to the north Idaho Birds of Prey NW facility. After the transfer of Beauty to Idaho, Jane began her efforts to assemble the resources and advice from industry pundits in effort to give Beauty a chance at life sndash; an effort, that produced the unanimous p'expertr' opinion that the bird could not be saved and she be euthanized an option ondash; Janie fiercely refused to accept!
Just a short time thereafter at a public presentation in Boise, Idaho she met Nate Calvin, a Mechanical Engineer who had brought his two daughters to the event to witness the majestic birds first hand and up-close. During her presentation, she presented the other raptor species and finished with a heart-wrenching tale of Beautylrs"s plight and her subsequent failed efforts to garner the required support to save Beauty. However, Jane had attracted the curiosity and competitive nature of Nate who approached her after the presentation with a comment she had not heard from anyone prior.
