Astana resident spends a month hand-feeding and treating endangered bird after rescue

Tengrinews.kz — An Astana resident spent nearly a month nursing an injured Red Book-listed eagle back to health after it was found in the steppe. The man saved the bird from dying but faced difficulties when he tried to find it a new home. He shared his story with Tengrinews.kz.
“Found in the steppe with a broken wing”
Thirty-nine-year-old Astana resident Alexey Gerasimenko said it all began on September 20. That day, one of his employees was on his way home when he spotted an eagle in the steppe of Akmola Region that could not fly and was barely able to move.

“He called me and said, ‘Alexey, you have a red-eared slider turtle, right?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ And he replied, ‘Well, I picked up an eagle.’ He said the bird was in really bad shape and there was something wrong with its wing. I couldn’t refuse him,” Alexey recalled.

Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
The men met in Astana and immediately took the eagle to a veterinary clinic.
An X-ray showed that the bird had an open wing fracture. Necrosis had already begun in the damaged tissue. According to Alexey, the bird may have spent up to ten days in the steppe without help.
“Its wing wasn’t just injured — it had almost rotted away. The doctor said it could have spent five to ten days in the steppe with a wing like that. So, naturally, it hadn’t eaten or drunk anything. It came to us extremely exhausted and weak,” the man said.
The steppe eagle’s condition was further complicated by parasites. Maggots had appeared in the injured wing, while fleas and feather lice were found on its body. Veterinarians had to treat the bird twice to get rid of the parasites.
Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
The first clinic quoted around 120,000 tenge for the surgery. Alexey later found another option that cost significantly less — 35,000 tenge. The operation was scheduled for the next day. On September 21, a veterinarian operated on the eagle. Because of the severity of the injury, about two-thirds of the wing had to be amputated.
After the surgery, Alexey took the eagle home and kept it in his garage.
“I fed it with a spoon and bandaged its wing every day”
The first few days after surgery were the hardest. The eagle barely moved and struggled to drink water. Alexey cared for the bird himself, giving it antibiotics and painkillers, treating the wounds and changing the bandages every day.
“For a week, I bandaged it, fed it and practically gave it water with a spoon. You’d drip water onto its beak and it would drink a little. The bird was very weak,” the man recalled.
Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
As the eagle recovered, caring for it became more difficult. At first, the weakened bird barely resisted, but after a few days it began running away and defending itself.
Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
To bandage the wound, Alexey had to carefully restrain the eagle’s legs and cover its head with a cloth. This helped calm the bird.
Despite the risk of being injured, Alexey continued caring for the eagle until it regained its strength.
Half a kilogram of meat a day and an eagle named Tengri
After just five days, the eagle became noticeably more active, and after about ten days it had grown accustomed to its rescuer. The bird began recognizing Alexey and would come to greet him when he brought food.

“I’d come in with food, and no matter which corner it was sitting in, it would run straight toward me. It completely stopped being afraid,” the man said.

Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
However, keeping a bird of prey turned out to be no easy task. Every day, the eagle ate about 500 grams of meat. Alexey prepared a mixture himself using chicken hearts, gizzards, drumsticks and a small amount of liver.

“About 250 grams in the morning and 250 in the evening. It’s fairly expensive. And you constantly have to prepare everything,” he said.

Once the bird had recovered, Alexey moved it from the garage into a small outdoor enclosure.
Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
During that time, the man grew attached to the unusual pet and even gave it a name — Tengri.

“It may sound strange, but I named him Tengri. Before that I just called him Eagle — I had to call him something when interacting with him. Then I thought: if he is going to stay with me for an indefinite period, he needs a name. Although just a week later, I had to give him away,” Alexey said.

Despite his attachment, the man understood that he would not be able to keep the eagle forever. A wild bird required special conditions, plenty of space and constant care.
“We called dozens of numbers”: why it was so difficult to find the eagle a new home
From the first days after rescuing the bird, Alexey tried to find an organization that could take in the injured eagle. He contacted zoos, forestry organizations and other institutions, but the search dragged on for almost a month.
According to the man, staff kept referring him to one another, while some did not answer the phone at all.
Later, Alexey’s office manager joined the search. According to him, she called around 30 numbers. Specialists in birds of prey from Karaganda and Atyrau also offered advice.
Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
Some people offered to take the eagle home, but Alexey was concerned that the bird might end up in unsuitable conditions or be used for photo shoots.
At one point, he even received an unexpected offer.

“A woman called me and said there was a company willing to take the bird, but only on the condition that we present it as though they had rescued it and run a PR campaign for them. Of course, I refused,” Alexey claims.

The man continued searching until he found people who agreed to care for the bird.
Where the bird is now and who is caring for it
On October 19, almost a month after the rescue, Alexey handed the eagle over to representatives of the Republican Association of Hunters. The bird was later taken to experienced eagle handler Vladimir Zemblevsky in the Yereimentau District of Akmola Region.
Tengrinews.kz contacted Vladimir Nikolayevich to find out how the rescued eagle is doing now.
The specialist confirmed that it is a steppe eagle listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book. Tengri is now living in a spacious greenhouse that protects him from the cold and wind.

“The eagle is gentle and well-fed. Alexey probably fattened him up. He spent several days at the hunting inspection office too, and everyone there wanted to feed him so he wouldn’t get sick,” Vladimir Zemblevsky said.

Photo provided by Alexey Gerasimenko
The eagle handler explained that steppe eagles usually migrate south for the winter. However, because of the injury, the bird will no longer be able to fly and will spend the winter under the specialist’s care.
Vladimir Zemblevsky has worked with birds of prey for many years and cooperates with the hunting inspection service and the association. Together, they help injured birds recover.
Will the bird be able to return to the wild
In the future, the eagle handler hopes to move the bird to semi-free conditions.

“Once he gets used to us, we’ll let him out. He’ll walk around, catch mice and lizards. If he gets hungry, he’ll come back and we’ll feed him,” the eagle handler explained.

This means the eagle will no longer be able to return to its former life in the steppe, but it may still have the chance to live outside a closed enclosure.
Photo by Alexey Gerasimenko
Alexey Gerasimenko admits that he became attached to the bird over the course of the month. Although saying goodbye was not easy, he is glad that a suitable place was eventually found for it.

“Of course there’s an attachment. When you spend so much time giving him water, changing his bandages, and then have to give him away somewhere, there’s a bit of sadness. But I understand that keeping him permanently would be very difficult,” the man said.

At the same time, Alexey does not consider what he did to be anything extraordinary. According to him, rescuing the eagle required a great deal of time, effort and money, but he has no regrets. What matters most to him is that the bird survived and is now being cared for by specialists.
Earlier in Zhetysu Region, Emergency Ministry rescuers helped a white swan with a broken wing. The bird was found in reeds near the village of Akshi. Rescuers warmed and fed the swan before handing it over to veterinarians.