Sharp-shooting US Army Veteran Rescues Bald Eagle Hanging from a High Tree

originally posted by: Maxatoria

When murica aint protecting their eagles you know the worlds ending.

You do know that the bald eagle was almost to extinction, but is now in healthy numbers thanks to one of the most successful conservation/protection breeding programs ever.

Just checking.

a reply to: Maxatoria

Not being argumentive, but look at the video at 1:12. See the tree and eagle and the ground beneath the tree? Where could they park a ladder-truck? Rush City, MN, near where this took place, has a population of less that 3,500. I couldn't find out if they even HAVE a ladder-truck that could go 70+ feet, however when checking out the website of Rush City, I thought it amusing that under "Departments" the drop down reads:
Department Listing
Liquor Store
Water and Sewer



I think this was probably the only solution, and hey! the eagle lived (and landed).

err just WTF - if " shoot it free " was the best plan that the muppets could come up with in 2 days - then they should all be shot .

this is NOT a boast - but i could have got that bird down in 20 minuites [ assumpton - i has been breifed that i need to climb a 25m tree and cut a rope from a distance ] - PS i would expect a practicing tree surgeon to do it faster than i could

a reply to: argentus

I've obviously not checked out the abilities of the local fire people etc, around here in blighty theres normally stuff available within an hours call (yep we're a small island and all that crap) that means we can hopefully sort out similar problems.

but anyway whats more murican than using guns to release an eagle

a reply to: argentus

to be very rude - the utter lack of any problem solving thinking in your post is distressing

is that it ? - in 2 days no one could figure out how to get 25m off the ground without a place to park right under the tree ??????????????

a reply to: Maxatoria

We had a paraglider in a tree near here. Out of reach of ladders and climbers, just on the edge of the branches. No way to get to him except helicopter. Personally I would have left him to sort it out himself, the entitled brat. But we're nice here in blighty, they got a yellow helicopter out just for him.

a reply to: ignorant_ape

You can be rude if you want to; it's a choice we all make when posting at ATS.

I wasn't on the scene, just had the same view as you did in the video. I don't care to argue with you or anyone else what could have been done; it's fairly obvious that it's a small town that doesn't have the resources of larger places. They did what they could, and it turned out well.

I was not consulted, and neither were you. Perhaps if we were, we could have trucked in a scaffolding assembly from nearby Minneapolis. Gee, I wonder how long that funding would have taken.

I'm happy for a happy ending. Are you?

a reply to: buster2010

You do realize how SMALL the round from a .22 is. Right? And gauging all factors involved (diameter of branch, green wood, distance, bird probably being a bit spazzed out by the shots, etc), I think Jason was very wise to handle the situation with the caution he used.

Great story, fitting heroics for the 4th! 🙌 🇺🇸

That poor bird! Hanging there for two and a half days like that! Thank goodness there are people like this man who care enough for our wildlife to free it from suffering and give it a chance at life. A hero! Yay!

a reply to: iTruthSeeker

I think this man did a wonderful job. Just taking the time to even care about the bird enough to expend what must be a considerable amount of money to ensure its survival gets a big in my book.

And people here are arguing about his designation as sharp-shooter? How sad.

a reply to: argentus

The local *officials" sure weren't very creative...geez! Borrowing a pair of spikes the guys use from the phone or electric company when they HAVE to climb must have been waaaaay out of their mental capacity to think of....

a reply to: Rubicon3

Certainly several people could have climbed the trunk of the tree. Did you see the video of the branch? That would not have supported any but the smallest human being, and then, what? Wriggle out 15 feet on a 3" branch? Saw off the branch, letting the eagle fall WITH the branch?

waaaaay out of their mental capacity to think of

I guess I don't understand the desire to insult the local officials. Hindsight is sure swell, however I haven't seen yet a solution posed that was better than the one taken.

Is it that a firearm was used to do some good? Not trying to insult you, just asking.

He said he did eventual hit the rope to cut it once some branches were gone. (chipped away at the rope)

edit:

looks like about the time the rope was going to be done, so was the main branch.

I applaud the efforts of the veteran sharp shooter that did the job of taken the bald eagle in distress without harming the bird.

He is a hero this 4 of july.

Great 4th of July feel good story.

But, it gets me a thinkin.

How does a Bald Eagle get tangled up with rope on its foot tied to a branch up a tree?

Did someone tie him up there, just to rescue him on the 4th of July?

Hmmm....

Excuse the critic in me. But, well, you know, lots of strange things going on in the world all the time.

Suspicious minds wanna know.

a reply to: AMPTAH

First of all I have been a eagle watcher for years, eagles are amazing raptors, they are one of the largest raptor in the US, they are not pets, these birds are not friendly and they do no wait for you to come and pet them, even when they are sick and vulnerable you risk getting injure by their talons and beak.

When eagles can not find fresh food they will go for carrion, death animals, sometimes hunters leaves traps during their hunt and eagles will get trap, or tangle.

The possibility that this eagle got tangle while hunting for food and flew into the tree where with the rope tangle over him also got caught in the branch is a posibility.

Also did I forgot to tell that eagles perch as high as they can in the trees.

The officials should have just asked here - one of the superman posters would have instantly flown there and rescued it.

I think with the amount of money invested and the end result, this was an amazing choice. To not factor all that into the equation seems like a bonehead thinking kind of thing. Sure Carlos Hathcock might have only used 25 -30 rounds, but then, he wasn't here. Good job and great ending.

Good job on the veteran rescuing the bird!
However, I think I would pay good money to see some of the braggarts posting here about climbing the tree and rescuing the critter by hand. Yeah, I guess some folks have never seen an eagle up close and the damage those talons can do, especially if the bird is annoyed already by having been tangled in a rope for a couple of days. It's not like the sparrow who gets into your house accidently and immediately settles when a towel is thrown over it. But thanks for the chuckles you know-it-all-about-rescuing-eagles have provided!

a reply to: diggindirt

Interesting insight into eagle psychology here. Upside down wild eagle psychology likely to vary.