Young bald eagle released after surgery for broken leg bone

In this photo taken June 24, 2019 and provided by the Arizona Game and Fish Dept., Stephanie Lamb, a volunteer veterinarian with Liberty Wildlife, releases a bald eagle back into the wild at Horseshoe Reservoir near Phoenix, four months after it had surgery to repair a shattered leg bone. (George Andrejko/Arizona Game and Fish Dept. via AP)

In this photo taken June 24, 2019 and provided by the Arizona Game and Fish Dept., Stephanie Lamb, a volunteer veterinarian with Liberty Wildlife, releases a bald eagle back into the wild at Horseshoe Reservoir near Phoenix, four months after it had surgery to repair a shattered leg bone. (George Andrejko/Arizona Game and Fish Dept. via AP)

PHOENIX — A bald eagle has been released into the wild four months after undergoing surgery for a shattered leg bone.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department says the 3-year-old eagle was released recently at Horseshoe Reservoir northeast of metro Phoenix.

According to the department, the bird somehow shattered its left femur and was found in February on the ground at a Queen Creek dairy.

photo

In this undated photo provided by the Arizona Game and Fish Dept., the surgically repaired leg of a bald eagle is shown. The eagle was released back into the wild at Horseshoe Reservoir near Phoenix on June 24, 2019, four months after the surgery. (George Andrejko/Arizona Game and Fish Dept. via AP)

A Liberty Wildlife medical team used a metal rod and screws to repair the damaged leg.

Raptor biologist Kyle McCarty says the surgery gave the eagle "another shot at survival" and that it will in a few years become old enough to breed and help bolster Arizona's eagle population.

The bird was released June 24 after being fitted with a GPS transmitter to help track its movements.


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