The global Covid 19 pandemic created many problems that were taken as both health and economic threats, but in many places it had also come as a means to aid wildlife, that often found itself pushed aside by Human activity. With Humans and even Animalians less active in places, many unuplifted Animals took that lack of activity as a means to be more active or move into new places. In some places it made for good snapshots taken by ranger stations, remote cameras, or other officials that were assigned to monitor those regions, regardless of whether or not there were tourists there. However, this didn't necessarily mean that everything was good with this as animals and Humans could still come into conflict, and that was the sort of situation that lead to a severely injured female Bald Eagle coming into Horizon from Alaska.
"Do you know on the full cause of the injury?" Judy asked to the Alaska Game Fish and Parks officer that had brought the bird in.
"The report was an interaction with a dog," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer answered, "a guy had a home not too terribly far from an area where a small number of the birds tend to congregate at certain times of the year for the Salmon run from the gulf... and in such proximity this female was attracted to something in his yard."
"The dog?" Judy wondered.
"While the Bald Eagle is certainly big enough to carry off a cat or a small dog... and their diet can be wide enough that individuals would show interest in more than just fish," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer answered, "given that the dog this guy owned is a Rottweiler/Husky mix... I doubt the bird was tempted to try and carry off the dog. My guess is that the guy had something that was within the range of what the bird could carry off and left in the open and seemingly unguarded. I think it was some fish filets that the guy had bought and was getting ready to grill... Why he left them outside and unguarded, I don't know... as there are Brown Bears in his general area too."
"So the eagle came down for the food that was left," Judy said slowly, "did it get the wing caught in something? I mean would they fly into a grill... a lit grill?"
"Possibly... if they're sick or blind," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer said slowly, "but you can see from her head movements and how her eyes are bright and focused... the only injury this eagle has is the loss of her wing. She wasn't sick... and the report we got would indicate that."
Judy nodded and looked in through the door to the case that the Game, Fish, and Parks officer was carrying the eagle in. The wing that it had lost was shielded from view, but the bird's eyes were focused forward and it periodically opened its beak and then closed it so that the beak's edges would click together. In this, other than its lost wing, the bird did look rather healthy.
"From the report... is that the eagle didn't know the dog was outside and in its doghouse," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer continued, "and thus it landed near the food that was left out and moved to feed. The dog heard this and came out of the doghouse, and from there it was essentially a fight between a relatively large dog and America's largest fish eagle. The girl hear managed to avoid being killed and clawed up the dog's shoulders and neck pretty good... which attracted the man to come back out. By the time he had done so, the dog had gotten a grip on the bird's wing and then shook his head pretty violently... as dogs would do. It effectively ripped the eagle's wing off and threw it back before the owner could get the dog off. The eagle hear managed to hop away... a bit, but obviously couldn't fly and couldn't leave. He called us and we came in..."
"And there was no zoo or sanctuary that would have wanted to take it in?" Judy wondered, as that was often the more preferred method of rehabilitation that many took with animals that weren't looking at dying.
"Not with some of the stuff going on with the whole pandemic... with politicians on both sides taking shots at each other and the scientists changing the prediction numbers as they go," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer answered, "thus the only option would be your Project Phoenix."
Judy nodded, "well... given that this isn't a zoo animal and has already had a fairly traumatic experience... we won't be able to do it by injection... If you can keep carrying the crate, we'll go into one of the larger lab areas and offer water with the Animalia Virus in it. When she drinks... it will uplift her, just the same as an injection would."
The Game, Fish, and Parks officer nodded and followed along after Judy. The crate was a bit heavy, given the size of the crate and the size of the bird within, but he'd built up a fair amount of fitness in working for Alaska's state offices that managed wildlife and state hunting and fishing seasons. Though, he could also feel some strain and fatigue sinking into his arms as they made their way through Horizon's hallways. He'd definitely need some time to rest afterward. They eventually came to a larger room that was well away from the main areas where customers came in, and was normally used when larger animals or animals that might be a bit more uneasy with Humans were to be uplifted.
It was a decent sized room with an open feel to it. There were sockets things to be plugged in and there were other furnishings that would indicate that the room could also be used as a lab at times, but presently weren't. The Game, Fish, and Parks officer set the crate down on the floor and watched as Judy went to one set of cabinets mounted on a wall and pulled what looked like a metal dog dish from it. From there, she turned to a sink that was underneath the cabinet and began filling up the dish. It didn't take her too long, and the Game, Fish, and Parks officer got the sense that the eagle could hear what was going on. Judy finished by placing the dish on the floor in front of the crate's door and then pulled the syringe case that Horizon had designed to carry the ready needles for injection. With Human conversions, these needles would carry a specific strain of the Animalia Virus which would include animal DNA for the conversion. With uplifting animals, it was just the Animalia Virus itself, relying on the animal's own DNA to provide for what kind of Animalian it would be. Judy would press down on the plunger for both syringes so that the Animalia Virus was put into the water. She then stirred the water with the syringes to make sure it was fully mixed.
"Okay," Judy said to the Game, Fish, and Parks officer, "all you need to do is open the crate and we'll leave the room."
"Leave the room?" the Game, Fish, and Parks officer wondered, his voice sounding puzzled.
"She'll likely be more comfortable if we aren't in her... and while many Animalians maybe more sexually forward than Humans and not being as afraid of "nudity" as some Humans seem to be... that doesn't necessarily mean that becoming an Animalian will automatically mean she will be open to being naked in front of us," Judy explained, "in this we do things to provide some sense of privacy and ultimately allowing for the circumstances that would be necessary to get some understanding of the new Animalian's personality after being uplifted."
"So you have monitors...?" the Game, Fish, and Parks officer asked.
"Technically, yes, but given the effects of the Animalia Virus that seem to improve individual health... we only really use them with new species that haven't been uplifted before," Judy answered, "mostly to monitor how they would handle the uplifting process. The last processes that we did with that were with the Dinotopians before that project hit the open market for conversions. In this, this female eagle is from a species that already has uplifted members and thus the only real differences in the data that we'd see would relate to growing her wing back."
"I see..." the Game, Fish, and Parks officer said slowly and then opened the latch that allowed the door to open as Judy approached him.
Once the door was open, the two went out the door that they'd entered through and simply waited. Animals that had come in for uplifting this way could often be unpredictable as to when they would drink and begin the uplifting process. Some started drinking quickly. Some took their time. Judy and the Game, Fish, and Parks officer could only wait quietly for anything that might indicate something. Though, Judy's ears were good enough that she might actually stand a chance of hearing something, and she kept them perked and alert as she waited, just in case there was any sound that would indicate movement or changes in the eagle.
Some sounds of movement did occur, but they were soft and muffled. It was enough that Judy could guess the eagle was moving about but hadn't yet taken a drink. And until there was some confirmation that the eagle had been successfully uplifted, Judy wasn't going to open the door to confirm things and thus spook the eagle. And so they waited patiently, and even the Game, Fish, and Parks officer remained calm while they waited, likely hoping to see that the eagle was well. They were quiet as they waited. Eventually after about ten minutes there came a tapping at the door from the inside, getting one of Judy's ears to turn to it.
"Hello... Rabbit Woman... Human Man, are you there?" came a feminine voice through the door.
"She's uplifted," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer stated.
"And likely healthy," Judy nodded as she opened the door to reveal the new female Bald Eagle Animalian, who presently had her wings folded under her arms so as to conceal her breasts and other pieces of equipment from view.
"I believe I will need what you call clothing..." the new Bald Eagle Animalian said slowly.
"And I can help you with that," Judy answered, "Do you know what you are now?"
"Naked," the Bald Eagle Animalian answered, actually getting a snort of laughter from the Game, Fish, and Parks officer.
"Well... true," Judy answered, "but more in line with your condition... you are now an Animalian, a humanoid animal, and part of a decent sized community. This will include other Bald Eagle Animalians."
"No dogs?" the Bald Eagle Animalian asked hopefully.
"There are Dog Animalians, but given Animalia's edicts, they would be forbidden from attacking you," Judy explained, "but we'll start with clothes before picking up more on anything else."
"Okay," the Bald Eagle Animalian answered.
"In the meantime... have you thought of a name?" Judy asked, "something to call you?"
"What would be appropriate?" the Bald Eagle Animalian wondered.
"Well a feminine or gender neutral name," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer answered, "Like Amanda, Angela, Barbara, Cassie..."
"What would Angela mean?" the Bald Eagle Animalian asked.
"I think it would be a feminine reference to angels," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer answered.
"And what are the other names?" the Bald Eagle Animalian asked.
"There could be Carla, Darla, Debra, Elizabeth, Fran, Georgeanna, and many others," the Game, Fish, and Parks officer continued.
"I don't know what to pick," the Bald Eagle Animalian answered.
"For the moment, we have time," Judy answered.