Officials thought this bald eagle was injured. It was actually just 'too fat to fly'.

2024-12-25 21:48:05 source:lotradecoin desktopapp category:Invest

A bald eagle in Missouri that was believed to be injured actually had a peculiar reason for why it was unable to fly: it was too fat.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation captured the bird along the boundary of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield and temporarily took it into captivity, park officials said in an Aug. 21 Facebook post.

However, an X-ray taken at the Dickerson Park Zoo, showed that instead of an injury, the bird was suffering from its own success − it had been eating a little too well. 

“The bird, originally reported to be injured, was found to be healthy but engorged with (raccoon) — in other words, too fat to fly,” the park said.

Officials suspect the raccoon was roadkill, according to the post. X-rays from the Facebook post show what appears to be a raccoon paw inside the eagle's stomach. 

The eagle has since been released back into the wild near where it was originally found and in compliance with state and federal laws.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

More:Invest

Recommend

ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class

The digital parking payment app ParkMobile has agreed to a $32.8 million settlement after a 2021 dat

Q&A: Maryland’s First Chief Sustainability Officer Takes on the State’s Climate and Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Goals 

Meghan Conklin is no stranger to corridors of powers. A California transplant, she cut her teeth in

Head Start preschools aim to fight poverty, but their teachers struggle to make ends meet

WASHINGTON (AP) — In some ways, Doris Milton is a Head Start success story. She was a student in one