This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
CEDAR CITY - Utah has lost a favorite feathered friend.
Bud, a golden eagle beloved by thousands of Utah Scouts, students and other wildlife enthusiasts, is dead from what is believed to be West Nile virus.
"He was a great ambassador for conservation," Bonnie Bell, special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Cedar City, said Wednesday about the eagle, who died Friday. "He provided a lot of education and inspiration over the years."
A frequent flier at schools, businesses and the Utah Shakespearian Festival, Bud was the nonprofit Southwest Wildlife Foundation's favorite partner for promoting wildlife conservation and the state's native birds of prey. In fact, Bud's prowess at publicity landed him last year on the floor of the Utah House of Representatives, where he was feted for his work.
"He was a good representative of the wildlife and environmental work done by the foundation," said Martin Tyner, Bud's handler and president of the Cedar City foundation that rehabilitates injured birds of prey.
Tyner first suspected his high-flying companion was sick when the two returned from a hunting trip on Sept. 6 and Bud began exhibiting problems with balance.
"I immediately suspected West Nile virus and started him on a liquid diet," said Tyne, who contacted a host of eagle experts and veterinarians in the nation for advice. We "were told the same thing - that the disease was almost always fatal in golden eagles. At the end, [Bud] couldn't stand, had horrible respiratory problems and tremors. It was a horrible way to die."
Keith Day, a biologist with the state Division of Wildlife Resources, eulogized the eagle.
"Martin used [Bud] effectively to educate people about the beauty and importance of, and the respect for, wildlife."
Cultures taken from Bud have been sent to a laboratory for analysis. While the results are not yet in, Tyner is sure the West Nile is the cause of the eagle's death. He thinks Bud contracted the virus at one of his favorite hunting haunts 15 miles north of Cedar City.
Bud's rise to celebrity began 15 years ago, when Tyner became the first person in the nation to trap a golden eagle for falconry and educational pursuits. Tyner snared the eagle, then a year old and deemed a threat to livestock, at a ranch west of Cedar City.
Tyner soon trained Bud to hunt rabbits and the two quickly became an inseparable tandem on hunting trips, in classrooms and at festivals and fairs.
The eagle helped the foundation secure donations for its rehabilitation work with injured birds of prey.
Located on 23 acres up Cedar Canyon, Southwest releases between 50 and 100 birds back into the wild each year.
Since burying Bud at one of the bird's "favorite hunting sites," Tyner has begun the process of obtaining a permit to trap another golden eagle for educational purposes. While government officials have pledged their cooperation, the permit process is still daunting.
"It's an extensive process because you are talking about being in possession of one of the most highly protected creatures in the country," Tyner explained.
Twenty-three people in Utah have been infected this year with West Nile, and a 65-year-old Uintah County man recently died from the virus.
Dustin Smith, West Nile prevention coordinator with the state Health Department, said the virus has been found in mosquitoes in Washington and Iron counties, but no human infections have been reported in southwestern Utah.