Last October 21, 2020, Mark Rice was driving along Highway 97; when something caught his attention.
Rice quickly spotted a motionless bald eagle on the road. The poor eagle was already surrounded by crows, and he immediately assessed that the bald eagle was already dead.
It was definitely a sight that you don’t see every day. It was just sad that the eagle seemed to have met an untimely end.
The American Bald Eagle is such a majestic animal; in fact seeing one will definitely leave anyone in awe.
According to FWS, the American Bald Eagle is no longer an endangered species, but they are still protected under multiple laws and regulations.
That is the reason why seeing an injured or dead bald eagle is such sad news.
He stopped and went to the location of the eagle, and there, he scooped the poor thing off the ground and stopped the crows from attacking it further. Then, he decided that the best way was to bring the dead eagle to B.C. Conservation.
He took the eagle and placed it in the back of his van, and started driving towards 100 Mile House. While driving, he heard some weird noises at the back of his van.
Rice was a bit confused, so he decided to take a look.
When he turned his head and decided to look at the back of his van, he was startled to see the eagle staring straight back at him!
“I’m like, hey, crap, this bird is alive!” Mark Rice wrote in the email he sent to CBC News.
Don’t worry, it wasn’t a zombie eagle – it just turned out that the poor thing was still alive but was injured, and without Rice’s intervention, the crows might have killed him.
Staff Sgt. Svend Nielsen from 100 Mile House RCMP stated that Rice decided to drive to the detachment parking lot. There, he contacted Nielsen and explained what happened. He also told them that the injured eagle was inside the back of his van.
Upon further assessment, Nielsen explained that it was more likely that the eagle suffered from a concussion, thus knocking him out completely.
Good thing Rice was able to see him before the crows attacked him.
Rice also said that the people from RCMP decided to contact the B.C. Conservation Officer Service for the rescue.
In no time, an officer quickly arrived and took over the custody of the bald eagle. The eagle was then transferred to a crate and was brought to their office.
“The bird got more lively and stood up for the first time and had its wings now partially up,” added Rice, who felt that this was a good sign.
This made him feel assured that the eagle will recover quickly.
As an update, they told CBS that they are planning to put the eagle in a rehabilitation center in the Lower Mainland. This decision was based on the provincial Wildlife Act.
It states there that it is illegal to possess a bald eagle in British Columbia.
What an amazing rescue story- but would you believe that this isn’t the first time that Mark Rice rescued a raptor?
That’s right! When Mark was still living in Maple River, he was able to rescue a bald eagle on the side of the road, where it was later released into Pitt Lake.
Though this was a very inspiring story, RCMP wanted to remind the public about deciding to approach animals that may look dead.
They said that in any event that the animal is still alive; you might end up with a very frightened and upset animal in your car or truck.
They said it’s better to contact the CO hotline at 1877-855-3222 or better yet, just contact your local RCMP Detachment before deciding to approach the animal.
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