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A pair of bald eagles found themselves in a tangle in Surrey, B.C., before power and fire crews helped a local wildlife rehabilitation group free the birds.
Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, based in neighbouring Delta, B.C., says in a social media post that the eagles were fighting when they became caught in the power line above a residential street on Sunday.
Photos shared by the society show the eagles’ legs wrapped in the power line as they hung upside down facing each other with their wings wide open.
Video of the rescue shows three people in the fire department’s ladder bucket approaching the entangled birds.
While one person pulled on the wires to begin the untangling process, another wearing long, protective gloves clapped, sending the eagles off in opposite directions — apparently none the worse after their predicament.
The society says bald eagles often fight to protect a nest or their young at this time of the year, “and this was the best possible outcome for them to go back to their respective babies.”
Thousands of eagles have flocked to the Fraser Valley. The annual migration sees the birds gather in the Harrison Mills area to feast on salmon. Our Baneet Braich went to witness the seasonal spectacle.
A statement from B.C. Hydro says its crews were notified of the problem on Sunday and “quickly de-energized the line to support a safe rescue.”
Surrey Fire Services responded and worked with the bird rescue group, it says, bringing one of its members up by ladder to help carefully free the birds.
“Once their talons were separated, both eagles took off right away — uninjured.”
