A trucker helped rescue a eagle that was hit by another semi.
According to NewsCenter1, a trucker was driving in Belle Fourche, South Dakota when he saw an injured golden eagle that was hit by a semi. He stopped to rescue the animal, wrapped it in a blanket, and put it in his truck.
A little while later after making a stop, he was surprised to see the bird sitting on his dash in the cab. The trucker called Animal Control and asked for assistance with the bird.
“So I put on my jacket and responded and when I arrived there was a golden eagle in the cab. And then we began to figure out how we were going to get it out of the cab safely and be able to get it to the Black Hills Raptors, so it could be helped,” said Clint Haffner, code enforcement and animal control for the Belle Fourche Police Department.
The rescue crew called Black Hills Raptor Center, a conservation organization for birds of prey, and spent almost two hours trying to safely remove the golden eagle from the truck.
Authorities from the Raptor Center examined the golden eagle, and determined that the bird was actually in pretty good contrition for being hit by a semi.
“I’ve checked in with the veterinarian in Pierre who runs the closest rehab center and – my guess is once the weather clears – for the sake of the bird, we’ll probably send it to her for her exam and probably flight,” said Executive Director Maggie Engler.
The Raptor Center added that they will take the eagle’s recovery slow and steady and make sure the bird of prey can survive before releasing it back into the wild.
See the Raptor Center’s post about the golden eagle below:
Original story by NewsCenter1.
