Rescuers Pull Weak and Starving Eagle from Watery Grave
All too often, stories arise of people rescuing cats and dogs from abusive environments or in odd places, like trash cans or in fields.
But sometimes, heartwarming rescue stories restore our faith in humanity, giving up hope and inspiration in the world again.
Among these stories are those about wild animal rescues. The story of a second-year, male golden eagle named Goldielocks especially tugs at the heartstrings.
While traveling in the Cherry Creek Mountains on June 30, 2014, a group of men from the Friends of Nevada Wilderness land inventory crew stumbled across a lone eagle trapped in a deep well.
While it was surprising for them to find such a creature in the well, it wasn’t out-of-the-ordinary for the team to be deep in the wilderness. This crew’s job is to travel within and protect over 3 million acres of Nevada wilderness, where they often encounter creatures of all kinds.
Two rescuers approached the large well to find that it was filled with water and grass. The eagle had gotten stuck as the water and grass dampened his flight feathers and prevented him from flying anywhere for several days.
Further, the men found that the tank was surprisingly deeper than they thought — a foot-and-a-half deep.
They hypothesize that the eagle misinterpreted the depth of the tank, flying in to get a drink and dampening his feathers in the process. That prevented him from flying, and since there was no way for him to avoid the wet water in that space, he was ultimately stuck and starving. If he was in there any longer, he wasn’t going to last.
One man climbed into the circular well with heavy-duty gloves on his hands and a shirt, which acted as a towel. He slowly approached the frightened bird and scooped him up. However, he soon realized that he couldn’t get out of the well with the eagle in his hands, so he had to pass the bird off to his friend.
Once they were all safely out of the well, the rescuers examined the animal for broken wings or wounds. The men fed the bird water from their own canteens while they cradled him like a baby.
They found nothing serious besides a very clearly starving and tired bird who had been sitting in the sun for days.
However, they did find that the valiant eagle had permanent damage to his flight feathers, which would normally allow the bird to steer and brake. He simply was not ready to fly on his own.
They took him to the Department of Wildlife, where he spent a month getting better in an infirmary. After a month, he was free to fly as a healthy eagle once again.
The bravery of the rescuers in saving the eagle from the well is inspiring to all of us. Eagles were meant to soar, and now this eagle is homeward-bound.
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