Two baby eagles were rescued this week after leaving their nest in Manatee County.
On Monday afternoon, someone called for help after spotting an eagle hanging upside down in a cell tower located off of 66th Street West in Bradenton.
Wildlife Inc. responded to the scene and determined the eaglet had fallen about 15 to 20-feet below. The bird also had its foot caught in a coupling device.
Under the guidance of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Wildlife Inc. contacted the owners of the cell tower, who were then able to send some crews out to help.
Once they arrived, rescuers climbed the tower and freed the injured bird.
As they were helping the eaglet, another baby eagle in the nest was startled and tried to fly away.
“We were hoping the other eaglet didn’t get disturbed, but it did,” said Ed Straight, with Wildlife Inc. “It came to the side of the nest and decided it was going to fly, which it was not quite old enough to fly. So, it coasted down luckily.”
Straight said they were able to locate the bird when it landed and found it was uninjured.
However, the sibling that had his foot stuck, was. He was taken to Busch Gardens in Tampa for surgery. Staff later determined that they could not help him, and that he had to be euthanized.
The other eagle was taken to a bird rehab center near Orlando.
Straight said they cannot re-nest the eaglet because they fear if they did, the bird would jump out of the nest again.
He said the baby eagle will be released back into the wild in Manatee County at a later date, once it has recovered.