ASOTIN - Thanks to the WSU Veterinary Hospital, another eagle is back in its natural habitat.

A golden eagle came to the vet school almost a year ago, when it was found near Winthrop, Washington, unable to fly, .

"He had some feather development problems, so he had broken off a lot of feathers and some of them that were growing in, were growing in abnormally," said Dr. Nickol Finch, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Maverick” is about two and a half years old, and Finch said for the last year the vet school has been less of a hospital, and more of a cafeteria for the eagle.

"In all honesty we really didn't do anything medically for him other than give him the food and everything that he needed to survive for a year, waiting for his feathers to (grow) back in."

At about 10:00 Thursday morning, they let Maverick out of the carrier he was transported in, he took a couple quick steps and several rapid beats of his wing and he was off to a nearby perch.

Finch said he was eager, and they were happy with his take-off.

"As well as I had hoped, and better than I really expected."

Officials expect Maverick to live and eat around the area of the Asotin Creek drainage, just about 10 miles from Asotin.

"This area, right now there's a lot of fish spawning so there’s an abundance of food,” said Finch. “For the time it takes him to finish getting conditioned, he gong to have a lot of food available, so he shouldn't go hungry for any length of time. "