A bald eagle was freed from a tree by a patriotic Army veteran, who spent 90 minutes firing 150 shots into three branches ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
Jason Galvin, who did two tours in Afghanistan, was on a bait run on Thursday when he spotted the eagle dangling upside down from a rope it got tangled in, according to KARE 11.
Galvin estimated the bird was hanging from the tree about 75 feet off the ground. It had been there for more than two days.
A bald eagle (pictured) was freed from a tree by a patriotic Army veteran, who spent 90 minutes firing 150 shots into three tree branches
Jason Galvin (pictured), who did two tours in Afghanistan, was on a bait run when he spotted the eagle dangling upside down from a rope caught in a 75-foot tree
The eagle had been hanging in the tree for more than two days as neighbors called the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the local police and fire department but were told there was nothing the agencies could do
Neighbors called the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Rush City police and fire departments, but were told there was nothing the agencies could do because of how high the eagle was in the tree.
At one point Galvin joked that he might have to shoot the eagle down and his wife responded by telling him ‘that’s what you’re going to do’, according to KARE 11.
Galvin then spent 90 minutes taking nearly 150 shots from a .22 caliber rifle ‘while mowing down three branches, and finally the rope, holding up the eagle’.
He told the station that because it was windy he had to wait ‘for the right shot’.
Before Galvin started shooting he ran the idea by Minnesota DNR conservation officer, Phil Mohs, who gave him the go-ahead after realizing the eagle would surely die if left in the tree anyway.
As Galvin’s last shot hit the branch, the underbrush below the tree helped break the eagle’s fall.
Mohs placed the bird in a kennel and took it to a rehabilitation center.
‘It rode in the front seat with me and the whole time his head was up and he was alert. It looked good considering it had been hanging there for two days,’ Mohs told the station.
Galvin then spent 90 minutes taking nearly 150 shots from a .22 caliber rifle ‘while mowing down three branches, and finally the rope, holding up the eagle’ (pictured). The underbrush below the tree broke the eagle’s fall
Before Galvin started shooting he ran the idea by Minnesota DNR conservation officer, Phil Mohs, who gave him the go-ahead after realizing the eagle would surely die if left in the tree anyway. Mohs placed the bird (pictured) in a kennel and took it to a rehabilitation center
A veterinarian at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center said the eagle (pictured) was eating and drinking, while its long-term prognosis was still being assessed. The eagle, now named Freedom, is estimated to be younger than five years old as it still has a mostly dark head and tail
Galvin told KARE 11 that ‘it was a good weekend for it to happen’.
‘Fourth of July, you know, that’s our bird. I can’t let it sit there.’
The bird was taken to University of Minnesota Raptor Center, a rehabilitation center that specializes in medical care for eagles and other large birds, where he’s recovering.
The eagle was named Freedom by the Galvins and their neighbors.
Galvin said the eagle’s rescue was an emotional experience, telling the station that there were ‘a lot of tears’.
‘When it finally came down, it was breathtaking. It was a beautiful moment.’
A veterinarian said the eagle was eating and drinking, while its long-term prognosis was still being assessed.
Adult bald eagles have white heads and tails with dark brown bodies and wings.
But younger, immature birds have mostly dark heads and tails, with their brown wings and bodies mottled with white in varying amounts.