Eagle hit by truck makes full recovery

NEW LONDON, Wis. - They say cats have nine lives...but what about eagles? A survival story out of Wisconsin might have you rethinking the old saying.

This bald eagle and truck collided in Fremont back in June. The bird was so far embedded in the truck his beak was touching the fan belt, but he was alive.

Pat Fisher is the founder of The Feather, a rehabilitation center for injured raptors in New London. She was called to the veterinary hospital that morning.

"There were no broken bones. A few ruffled feathers, no cuts or bruises," Fisher told WLUK-TV.

As unbelievable as it seemed, the eagle only had a concussion. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, the driver of the truck helped save the bird's life by immediately calling the local sheriff's department.

"Who got in touch with us and then we were able to get in touch with Pat here at the rehabilitation center and kind of got this whole circle working," said DNR Conservation Warden Kaitlin Kernosky.

The eagle made his month-long recovery at the Feather.

But Fisher says the driver, the DNR warden, the vet and her volunteers are all responsible for sending him home.

"It's amazing to me. It's my way of putting back what we all take," said volunteer Ginny Perrault.

Fisher watches the birds on a security camera and says she can tell when they're ready to go back into the wild.

"They're going to tell you when they're ready to go. When they start banging on the walls and hanging from the ceiling, let them out," said Fisher.

This eagle was ready to go on July 15.

"No matter how many times you do it, it's always like the first time. All of a sudden they're up and over the trees and they're gone and you think, 'how in the heck did this happen? And from the grille of a truck!'" exclaimed Fisher.

She told us it's nothing short of a miracle.

"There had to be a reason for that bird to come out of that grille. There had to be a reason," said Fisher.

We did reach out to the driver of the truck. He did not wish to be interviewed, but says the whole story is amazing.