Fittingly on the 4th of July weekend, an Army Veteran rescued an eagle stuck in a tree, reports John Lauritsen of CBS Minnesota.
Jason Galvin of Rush City, Minnesota and his neighbors noticed an eagle hanging from a tree. The bird’s leg had gotten tangled in a piece of rope wrapped around the branch, leaving it dangling 70 feet off the ground.
Known for his sharp-shooting skills, Galvin used a gun to save the eagle’s life. In an interview, Galvin said he thought it was dead, and took a closer look using binoculars, and saw that the head of the eagle was still moving, proving it was indeed alive.
On his way to buy minnows, Galvin turned the trip into a rescue mission. Galvin and his wife Jackie called the police, the fire department and the DNR. Jackie Galvin said that these agencies had been aware of the situation for the past two days but that it wasn’t within their jurisdiction and that safety measures would be compromised.
Jackie begged her husband, an Afghanistan war veteran, to shoot the four inches of rope that was keeping the bird hanging. After getting permission from the DNR, Galvin took his .22 long rifle, and using “his own eagle eye,” began a most unusual rescue mission.
Galvin relates, “It felt very weird to be shooting in the direction of a bald eagle. I was very nervous.” He said that he didn’t want to hit the bird, of course. The wind, the midafternoon sun glaring down, foliage and the distance made it a difficult task. Galvin had to take down some branches so he could see the rope. It took an hour and a half and around a hundred and fifty shots to free the eagle.
A neighbor and a conservation officer helped wrap the eagle in a blanket, and it was taken to the Raptor Center. It is expected to survive. If the eagle recovers soon, it is to be released back into the wild; otherwise, it will be taken to a Nature Center to re-learn how to fend for itself.
The neighbors have nicknamed the eagle, “Freedom.”
