Bald eagle doing well after Alaska dentist gives him a temporary crown to repair mangled beak

Cindy Palmatier of the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage with Cyrano. Image: BTLC

Cyrano the eagle now earns his keep at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage teaching people how to avoid damaging other birds.

Damage control,” is a ploy often used by politicians and celebrities to get themselves out of trouble and restructure their image with the public, but for an Alaskan dentist, it was a challenge to come up with a unique treatment for a bald eagle with a broken beak.

This is the tale of a feathered patient -- a living, breathing symbol of the United States -- a bald eagle. It’s about his caring doctor who wasn’t even a veterinarian, but had heart, compassion and used some ingenuity to patch him up.

When the eagle, since named Cyrano, was discovered he was suffering from severe damage to his beak, likely caused by unthinking humans who left fishing lines in their wake. A line was wrapped around Cyrano’s beak so tightly it cut away part of it.

Cindy Palmatier of the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage said the center’s staff sought out the assistance of Dirk Johnson, DDS, to find a solution.

Johnson patched up the bald eagle by making a crown for its damaged beak by using the same ingredients to make temporary crowns for his human patients. Then he applied sticky poster putty to hold it in place.

For aesthetic value, Johnson painted the repair work with a yellow marker to make it blend in with the coloring of Cyrano's beak.

Although officials at the bird center said Cyrano is mending nicely, the damage to his beak was so severe they won’t be able to release him back into to the wild and he will live out the rest of his life in their care.

“As long as the animal can eat and is comfortable and can work for education I guess we’ve done our job,” Johnson told KTUU, a local TV station following the procedure.

The Bird Treatment and Learning Center is a nonprofit, relying on public donations. Information on donations, an array of photos and stories of their successes can be found on their website.