NYPD Harbor Unit pulls injured bald eagle from icy Hudson River
Officers saw the bird floating on the ice while on patrol just north of the George Washington Bridge.
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An injured bald eagle was rescued Tuesday from the Hudson River by the NYPD’s Harbor Unit.
Officers saw the bird floating on the ice while on patrol just north of the George Washington Bridge. They heard it calling out and moved in to help.
The eagle was taken in by The Raptor Trust, a non-profit bird rehabilitation facility in Millington, NJ.
According to Chris Soucy of the Raptor Trust, the eagle is a 21-year-old male. Soucy said the bird was banded as a juvenile, which allowed caretakers at the facility to determine its age.
The eagle was suffering from medical issues related to being on the ice for so long, and Soucy said the bird is currently being housed in The Raptor Trust's intensive care unit. Caretakers are providing as much life-saving treatment as possible, he said, however the bird is still "agitated and unstable," making additional diagnostic testing difficult.
The Raptor Trust takes in and rehabilitates approximately of 6,000 birds a year, Soucy said.
Once an endangered species, bald eagles were removed from the list last year as their population began to expand. They're now listed as a species "of special concern," according to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
