Late last year, in the mountains of Chiba Prefecture, hikers came across an owashi (Steller's sea eagle) -- a designated special natural treasure -- that was unable to fly.
The striken raptor was immediately sent to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, into the charge of Teruyuki Komiya, general curator of the zoo. An X-ray soon revealed that lead shot was buried in one of the bird's wings, and that it would never fly again, and so could never be reintroduced into the wild.
In many cases, protected birds like these are kept in a cage in a zoo or other facility.
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