Watch: Rescuers Save Injured Bald Eagle In Calaveras County
CALAVERAS COUNTY (CBS13) — A rare bald eagle rescue on Easter Sunday was caught on video.
Body camera shows the moment rescuers safely trapped the injured bird near New Hogan Lake in Calaveras County.
In the video, you can see them approaching slowly and silently. Rescuers kept an eagle eye on the injured eagle in need. Then suddenly, they move in.
Susan Manning with Tri County Wildlife Care said it's incredibly rare to capture a live bald eagle.
"It's fighting for its life. It has no idea that we are trying to capture it to save it," she said.
Manning said the bird was covered in puncture wounds.
"It had a big wound on its head, another on its neck, another on its wing," Manning said.
Manning will be part of the rehabilitation process alongside veterinarian Dr. Alison Pillsbury with 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,"
Rescuers said 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 him strong enough to fly again.
"He's, so far, begun to eat on his own -- some mice that we had stored," Dr. Pillsbury said.
It's an Easter eagle that will rise again, thanks to rescuers who didn't give up.
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.