CALAVERAS COUNTY, Calif. (KOVR-TV — A bald eagle is on its way to recovery after a rare rescue was caught on camera.
Rescuers approached silently and slowly to help the bald eagle.
“It's fighting for its life. It has no idea that we are trying to capture it to save it,” said Susan Manning, Tri County Wildlife Care.
Manning said the bird, which was covered in puncture wounds, was tracked down at a lake in Calaveras County, California.
“It had a big wound on its head, another on its neck, another on its wing,” she said.
Susan will be part of the rehabilitation process - alongside Dr. Allison Pillsbury of Acorn Hills Animal Center.
“He has a very large wound up against his skull that we cleaned out. It will take several cleanings to finish cleaning that out,” Dr. Pillsbury said.
Rescuers say the bird had not been shot and they don't suspect people played a role in its injuries.
“We think it may have been attacked by another eagle in a fight for territory and breeding rights,” Manning said.
It will take at least several weeks to get the bald eagle strong enough to fly again.
“He's so far begun to eat on his own, some mice that we had stored,” Dr. Pillsbury said.
Once the eagle is strong enough to be released, rescuers said he will be taken back to the exact same spot where he was found.
