An eagle was impaled by a lightning rod on a tower in Florida. See the rescue attempt
An eagle had quite the ordeal on Thursday in MacClenny, Florida, and had people working feverishly to save its life.
According to a Facebook post from the local fire department, the bird was impaled by a lightning rod atop a radio tower at St. George Elementary, in Baker County, west of Jacksonville.
A rescue crew, along with wildlife authorities, did everything to help the eagle “in obvious distress.”
The bird was in a precarious spot — 120 feet in the air.
After ascending to the department’s “maximum” height of 100 feet on a ladder, an engineer got out of the bucket and hooked into the tower with the “proper safety equipment” to advance the remaining distance, said the post.
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The engineer was able to free the bird, which “soared down” to the ground, where it was gathered up and tended to by wildlife professionals.
A picture on the post, which contains a warning about graphic images, shows the poor thing lying supine, splattered with blood.
The post ends by congratulating everyone involved: “Great job, fellas. We are extremely proud of you and what a call. To be up close to America’s symbol of freedom, what a memory!”
But a Saturday update bears some unfortunate news: The eagle succumbed to its injuries.
After a number of disappointed Facebook comments rolled, the fire department responded by saying at least the creature did not die up on the tower in pain.
“We are at least thankful he did not pass up there stuck and suffering.”
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