Today I took Garrama (the male fledgeling) to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo (about 140 km) for vet assesssment. I was initially only concerned about his poorly developed tail feathers, but the vets wanted to do a full assessment with X ray.
Unfortunately, the X rays showed a severe deformity/curvature of the spine, almost certainly something that developed in the egg formation. Some of the vertebrae were not probably formed and he would never have been able to fly well or to become ‘the hunter’ (which his name means). He will be buried at the zoo.
X rays below.
