Meet Yar, the eagle that can't fly far... without an artificial leg

Yar was severely injured, the binding preventing blood circulation to the leg which had broken off when the bird of prey was found several days ago by a member of an expedition from the Siberian Ecological Centre.

'Yar will be able to fly - but he will never be able to make it on his own in the wild,' said a statement by the Rehabilitation Centre for Birds of Prey in Novosibirsk. 

Without a prosthetic leg, Yar will not be able to take off and land properly, and so will be unable to catch prey to sustain his strength. Now wildlife campaigners are gathering funds 'towards surgery to remove part of the bone which is still sticking out which has to be done to prevent  gangrene'.

The bird is reckoned to be 50 days old. 

'By an unfortunate accident, Yar's parents brought a rope together with other material to make the nest, and the baby eagle got its leg tangled it. The rope went so tight around Yar's left leg that it completely blocked blood circulation from below the knee joint, leading to the tissues dying and leg breaking off', Novosibirsk Rehabilitation Centre for Birds of Prey said. 

'His thigh bone on its injured led is still there and protruding outside the soft tissues. Yar needs surgical removal of the protruding part of the bone to prevent further rotting and mortification. Surgery will take place as soon as possible. 

'In future we plan to make a prosthesis that will allow Yar to lean on it and so walk normally.'

So far the funds for this are not in place but the centre is seeking money and expertise on such a rare operation.