Injured Bald Eagle Rescued After Being Struck By Train In Virginia

June 4, 2024 Andrea Powell

A bald eagle was struck by a train on Thursday and found on the tracks by an officer with Prince William County Police Department. He appeared injured and unable to move, so the officer contacted local wildlife rescue, AERO Animal Education and Rescue Organization.

Founder of the rescue, Olivia LoBalbo, immediately responded as time was not on her side. "Vehicular strikes (even train strikes) are a pretty common occurrence but in this case, we were on a time crunch because there was another train on its way and we had to get him off the tracks before it did," recalls the rescue.

"Typically, we would assess the situation carefully, come up with a game plan, and then go slow to not stress out the animal, and to keep our rescue team safe. Unfortunately, as soon as she pulled up, they had less than two minutes to get him off the tracks."

Some quick thinking and cooperation from the eagle led to a safe rescue. "With some skillful handling and a very cooperative Eagle (who very much understood another train was getting close) they were successfully able to get him wrapped up and caged, quite literally in the last few seconds before the train came."

The injured eagle was taken to Wildlife Vet Care to be examined and cared for by Dr. Belinda Burwell. He is slowly improving and hopefully will be able to fly once more.

High praise to AERO Animal Education & Rescue Org. for responding to an injured bald #eagle struck by a train last Thursday in PWC. #AERO acted swiftly & rescued the beauty amid time constraints. Thanks for the update that he's improving. Our good thoughts are soaring your way! pic.twitter.com/qLx3nr4Yyp

— Prince William County Police Department (@PWCPolice) October 31, 2023

He will be released back into the wild once he has fully recovered. Prince William County Police Department thanked everyone involved in the rescue on Facebook and wrote, "We spoke with AERO yesterday and confirmed the eagle continues to heal and they are hopeful for an upcoming release. AERO – Please know, our good thoughts are soaring your way!"

Andrea Powell

Andrea Powell is an animal enthusiast who resides in West Michigan. When not writing, she is exploring the great outdoors with her dogs and horses.

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