An injured bald eagle trapped in fishing twine is recovering after two children and Pasco County firefighters rescued him last week.
The children found the injured and exhausted bald eagle with its beak tangled in the fishing line. They carried the distressed bird to Pasco County Fire Rescue Station 21, where they knocked on the door and asked for help.
Firefighters noticed the federally-protected eagle was underweight. The fishing line and hook wrapped around his beak and wing had prevented him from eating.
“It appears that the eagle was wrapped in the line for about two days, was underweight, and dehydrated,” the agency posted on its Facebook page.
The crew contacted the Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife in Odessa, Fla., for assistance. Sanctuary staff successfully removed the hook from the eagle’s beak.
He will continue recovering at the sanctuary until he is ready for release and is reportedly doing well.
“He’s chomping down all his meals with great enthusiasm and doesn’t leave a crumb behind,” the sanctuary wrote in a Facebook post. “In the meantime, this big guy is resting and recuperating — he’s already looking so much better!”
While this story likely will have a happy ending, it’s a good reminder that improperly discarded waste — particularly fishing gear — poses grave threats to wildlife.
Lady Freethinker encourages people to pack out or properly dispose of any fishing twine or garbage while enjoying the outdoors.
It’s also important to remember that most states have laws that make it a crime to own, care for, or otherwise handle wildlife without an official wildlife rehabilitation license. It’s always best to call local authorities or certified wildlife rehabbers for help if you find an animal in distress, for both your safety and theirs.

Un grand MERCI à ces jeunes formidables!!!!
I just want to say thank you to all the kind people and those caring children for their rescue of animals a wildlife.
God bless you all.
I just want to say thank you to all the kind people and those caring children for their rescue of animals a wildlife.
God bless you all.
I just want to say thank you to all the kind people and those caring children for their rescue of animals a wildlife.
God bless you all.
What beautiful, alert caring children.
Bless you, all the ones who rescued this magnificent eagle!!!
Thanks to these wonderful children and the appreciate authorities 🦅👦👧
stop anmal cruelty now !!
We have to address plastic! Each country gets involved gather the plastic off beaches and land find a place large enough long enough and start building a mountain crush the plastic layer with hard substance in till we find a solution keeping from spreading all over the place
Thanks to these wonderful young people who found and helped get this eagle to the great people who were able to save its life.
There needs to be stronger and more enforced laws about discarded fishing line. This is a huge and terrible problem for all kinds of waterfowl and diving birds, maiming and killing many. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to invent fishing line that is quickly biodegradable, since no one will ever get fishermen to be responsible – they just don’t care and simply cut their lines, leaving them to wrap around other animals.
MERCI à toutes ces personnes formidables
The angels were watching out for this lucky bald eagle. Thanks to everyone involved in the eagle’s rescue for thinking clearly and calling on the best people possible to help out.
Thank you to all who helped, if we can all help animals we can change the way of life
Animal Lives Matter
love from uk
Thanks to the children and all that rescue this majestic eagle
Thanks to every one who have taken much enthusiasm to care for this poor Eagle, SPECIAL THANKS” to the 2 children who rescued the Bird from the trapped location. Its very nice to see some younger generation also has a keen interest by helping the wild animals. THANKS TO EVERY ONE WHO IS ALREADY INVOLVED IN THIS RESCUE & RECUPERATION.
Many thanks to the children, fire department and the sanctuary.
GLAD THIS EAGLE WAS SAVED