A 100 Mile House man had quite a scare yesterday (Oct 21) after collecting what he thought was a dead eagle, with the intent to bring it to a conservation office.
The driver had been travelling on Highway 97 when he came across the animal, thinking it had been hit by a vehicle.
He put the eagle in the back of his vehicle, but soon discovered the bird was just unconscious.
“When arriving into town, however, the thought to be deceased eagle suddenly woke up from its likely concussion induced sleep and scared the life out of the complainant as he was driving along the highway,” said Svend Nielsen with the 100 Mile House RCMP.
The man then drove straight into the RCMP parking lot to deal with the issue.
“(He)met with an officer coming on duty, who gingerly looked into the van, took some photos of the bird and contacted Conservation,” said Nielsen
“Local Conservation Officer Joel Kline attended to retrieve the magnificent bird and safely place it into a kennel. If you look closely at the photo of the red kennel, you can see the bird is very much alive and likely very upset.”
The eagle is doing well according to the conservation office, and plans are in the works to bring it to the lower mainland for rehabilitation.
100 Mile House RCMP stresses caution when approaching any wild animal that looks deceased.
“Or you might end up with an upset eagle flapping around in the backseat of your minivan,” said Nielsen
Contact the CO hotline at 1-877-855-3222 or your local RCMP Detachment prior to approaching the animal.