Garvin County Family Rescues Unresponsive Bald Eagle

A female bald eagle is recovering after being found nearly unresponsive in a Garvin County pond.

The Burns family was driving north of Lindsay on October 29, when they came across the eagle.  

“It was really breathtaking,” said Stanly Burns. “When I got a hold of him, I had no idea how strong the birds can be. It was all a big guy like me could hold onto as bad of shape as he was in.”

After the Burns family contacted the game warden, the eagle was taken to the WildCare Foundation in Noble.

“We’re not out of the woods by any means, but she is showing improvement day by day,” said veterinarian Faye Lorenzsonn.

Blood work suggests the eagle suffered some sort of head trauma. An x-ray revealed no bones were broken.

“The next step for her will be to move her outside where we have larger outdoor enclosures that she can work on testing her flight,” said Lorenzsonn. “We can see how she navigates perches and if she is able to fly well, at that point we'll have a better idea if she can get back released with her mate.”

The Burns family hopes the eagle will return safely to the wild.

“We saw its mate up on a high voltage power poll all by itself,” said Burns. “We could tell, at least in our eyes, it was looking for its mate, and it would be great to see them back together.”

WildCare is a non-profit organization dedicated to wildlife rehabilitation. Click here for more information.