LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – An American hero risked his life swimming to the aid of America’s national bird, facing a possible alligator in the process.
Doug Hay told FOX 13 Tampa Bay that on April 19, he heard a splash in the lake behind his Lakewood Ranch, Florida, home. He and his wife went to investigate the noise and saw a bald eagle in the center of the lake, with another bald eagle circling above.
Hay believes the two eagles were fighting when one of them became seriously injured and ended up in the lake.
Seeing the eagle in trouble, Hay jumped into the lake and started swimming toward it.
Hay told FOX 13 the eagle landed “smack in the middle” of the 100-yard lake, and he also knew a 7-foot alligator lived in the water.
According to the National Eagle Center, bald eagles can use their wings to swim like oars if they catch a fish too heavy to lift. However, this eagle was injured, and it’s unclear if it had made it so far from the middle of the lake.
Hay reached the eagle, which grabbed his arm with its talons. The pair “barely made it to shore” because Hay, 69, said he was so tired. Hay’s wife caught the whole incredible rescue on camera.
In a follow-up video, Hay shows the eagle on the lakeshore and says he hopes it will fly off. After a while, when it became clear the eagle was injured, he notified a wildlife rescue.
The Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida in Venice is caring for the eagle now, which is recovering from an “extensive” wound to the thoracic cavity.
Hay also suffered some wounds to his arm from the eagle’s talons, but he said he would do it again to save “the symbol of America.”
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