Bald Eagle Rescued From NJ Backyard Injured By Gun Shot
PITTSTOWN, NJ (CBS) – Officials have revealed to CBS 3 that the bald eagle rescued from a tree in New Jersey Thursday was injured as a result of a gun shot.
The x-ray shows the "answer" in black and white.
"Somebody shot the bird, there's no question about it," Chris Soucy told Eyewitness News.
Soucy is the Director of the Raptor Trust, the group that rescued the 3 or 4-year-old male eagle this week.
"We took x-rays when the bird came in and we can see that there's a big lead pellet lodged in its leg and its leg is fractured," Soucy said.
The eagle, nicknamed "Lilly" by a the little girl whose backyard he spent days in, was unable to fend for himself.
First he flew away but eventually he was caught, and his long road to recovery began.
"The bird is feisty. I mean, it's energetic and it's fighting back," Soucy said.
Fighting back, but his future is unclear.
"It's not able to use its leg and there might be further injuries," Soucy explained.
"Lilly" is scheduled for surgery sometime this weekend.
Doctors will remove the pellet and send it to the Department of Environmental Protection, hoping to determine exactly what happened.
"If this is a buckshot, there's no way it was an accident," Soucy said.
If you have any information on who may have shot "Lilly," please call the Department of Environmental Protection's "Game Thief" Hotline at 1-855-OGT-TIPS, or visit their website by clicking here.
Click here to donate to the fundraiser for "Lilly" the bald eagle:
