Good Samaritan plucks injured eagle from Klondike River

An injured eagle is recovering at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve after being rescued from the Klondike River by a member of the public, according to Yukon Conservation Officer Services.

"It was apparently in the water and it was drowning," says Peter Gibson, a conservation officer in Dawson City.

"And this person, out of the goodness of their heart, took it upon themselves to fish the eagle out and bring him to us."

Although Gibson says he doesn't recommend people handle eagles in general, he says, in this instance, it worked out. 

The juvenile eagle had an injured left wing with some blood on it and appeared unable to fly, says Gibson. He says it's impossible to know how it was injured. 

Since there are no rehabilitation facilities in the Dawson area, the eagle was flown to Whitehorse, where it was examined by veterinarians from both Yukon Environment and the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.

'Hopefully we'll be able to take him back to the wild fairly quickly'

Dr. Maria Hallock with the Yukon Wildlife Preserve says she checked the eagle's wings.

"There were a couple of feathers that were broken and a bit of bruising, but other than that it was good."

She says the eagle is doing great but is getting irritated because there's not enough room in the enclosure, which is shared with another eagle. 

"So hopefully we'll be able to take him back to the wild fairly quickly," she adds. 

The plan is to let the eagle recover at the wildlife preserve, then release it in the area where it was rescued.