After two months of recovery, a bald eagle once rendered helpless by a trapper's snare spread its wings and flew back into the wild.
The bird of prey was found in late January by a family snowmobiling in the Edgewood, B.C. area, looking for moose to photograph. The eagle was stuck in a trap likely set for a larger animal like a wolf.
One of its rescuers, photographer Tasha Hall, took photos and video as her family freed the bird from the snare. Hall filmed the incident as two men put a jacket over the bird, dodged its beak, examined its wing and picked it up off the ground.
Hall told CTV News they thought the bird's wing was broken, so they brought it to the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops for assessment. Park staff said the raptor was severely dehydrated and had a large hematoma on its wing, but it was able to eat on its own within a few days.
This week, Hall was there when staff at the park's Wildlife Health Centre released the eagle back into the wild. Volunteer Jenna Bourdon drove the bird three hours back to its home territory, with the eagle in the back of her vehicle in a dog crate.
Hall's video shows the eagle take a few small hops out of the crate, then spread its wings and take off, climbing slowly higher into the air.
She said she feels grateful to everyone who helped the bird recover, calling the wildlife park and its volunteers incredible.
"They did amazing things! What a group of dedicated people to help our wildlife like that," she said.
Those wondering what to do if they find an animal in the wild in need of help can get more information here.
