A passerby helped spark a remarkable rescue of an injured bald eagle off a busy highway in Bagley, Minnesota. According to The Bemidji Pioneer, the eagle appeared to have injured its wing and was taken to Grand Rapids Wildlife Rehabilitation.
On Oct. 8, the passerby spotted the eagle off County Highway 30 and relayed the story to Angie Ness, a resident of Bagley. The Pioneer reported that the passerby tried to call a nearby rescue organization, but the call was made after hours, and the service couldn't respond.
The next day, Ness returned to the scene of the spotting, and the eagle was still there. After Ness reported it, the Department of Natural Resources arrived on the scene and cornered the eagle, safely capturing it in a large crate.
The bird was admitted to Grand Rapids Wildlife Rehabilitation, which, according to the Pioneer, is authorized to care for species in Minnesota needing "rehabilitation or emergency medical treatment."
GRWR is an independently run wildlife rehabilitation facility that accepts many types of species that have been found and need help. According to the GRWR website, the facility wants to add capacity and is seeking donations.
In addition to GRWR, many other facilities do similar work. Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, based in Texas, is a nonprofit organization that rescues about 10,000 animals each year. Since many organizations do not receive government funding, they rely on public support to stay active.
Unfortunately, cases of wounded animals are all too common. An injured bald eagle was similarly rescued on a highway in North Carolina, another was rescued by community members who spotted it unable to fly in Tacoma, Washington, and one was saved after being found hanging from a tree in Texas, tangled in fishing line.
For a while, the bald eagle was an endangered species due to hunting, deforestation, and chemical contamination — and eagles are still protected by certain laws, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
With swift policy action and conservation efforts, the eagle is now a symbol of conservation success through its recovery. That said, new threats, such as development, which often increases human-animal interaction, and the growing waste problem, especially plastic waste, threaten the species and others in new ways.
Community members often play a crucial first-responder role in wildlife rescues. It's important to stay alert for animals in need of help and remember there are organizations ready to assist. Even ordinary people can set extraordinary rescues in motion.
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To further help wildlife, you can donate to causes and rehabilitation centers that support efforts to conserve and protect wildlife. You can also protect them by protecting their environments through actions like voting for pro-climate candidates and reducing single-use plastic use.
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