When a bald eagle got tangled in a rope attached to a tree, everyone else in a Minnesota town left the bird for dead — except for one sharp-shooting Army veteran who refused to give up on the stranded animal.
Best story of a lifetime!
Jason went to the store yesterday from the cabin and when he came back he told me there was an eagle at the end of our road hanging upside down by its foot from a tree branch with rope caught around it.
We had to go have the inspection done on our new house and all the way there I called the sheriffs office, city hall, fire department, U of M Raptor center , DNR Conservation Officer and all the stories were the same. They said it had been there for 2 1/2 days and that there was nothing they could do and that the eagle had died and the movement we saw was only the wind blowing it.
I told them they were wrong and it was very much alive and somebody needed to help it immediately! They all said sorry but there was nothing they could do.
I told Jason he had to shoot it free! He was nervous as he didn’t want to get in trouble for shooting at an eagle but I know with his sharp shooter skills that if anyone would save this eagle it was him!
A neighbor at the cabin drove by and borrowed Jason his .22 as it had a better scope than Jason’s. It was windy and he only had about 4″ of rope to shoot without hitting the eagle. As he assessed the elements of the weather he took a couple of practice shots to ensure the sight was on target. It was. He began shooting at the rope.
An hour and a half later and 150 bullets, the eagle broke free from the branch and fell 75′ into the trees of the woods.
The DNR showed up about 1/2 hour before as he gave Jason permission to try to save this beautiful bird.
We wrapped him in a blanket and put him in our dog kennel and the DNR brought him to meet the Raptor Center Vet. It sounds like the eagle will recover perfectly and at 150 rounds shot, Jason never once hit the bird.
I can’t even tell you how amazing this experience was and I knew of all people, my husband wouldn’t let me down!
We named the eagle Freedom and hope to be able to release him near his home once he is back to health!
What an amazing hero, my Army Veteran saving an eagle on 4th of July Weekend! I love you Jason and all that you are!