TULSA – Zoo workers received an emergency call downtown Thursday night after fans leaving a Drillers game found an injured bald eagle.
Police named the bird "Freedom."
Now local wildlife experts hope he'll soon live up to his name.
His feathers haven't even turned white yet, but this young bald eagle is the already the talk of the town.
"We get lots of animal calls and it's usually never what people say it was. But this time it was for sure a bald eage in downtown Tulsa," said Tulsa Police officer, Mitch Helberg.
Even downtown workers were shocked to see this bird on the building yesterday. They're not sure if it's the same one.
Today, he's a the Tulsa Zoo where five others like thirty-year-old Sutton with an eye injury have made their home.
"Despite the fact that he could fly, he just can't successfully hunt anymore," said zookeeper, Luke Krider.
All five of the zoo's eagles are unable to live on their own in the wild, but specialists are working to make sure Freedom's future involves going back home.
"We're determining what is wrong with the eagle, we're getting a blood draw, we're doing x-rays, basically doing a head to toe exam to figure out exactly what's going on," said Sarah Floyd with the Tulsa Zoo.
Right now they say Freedom is alert and feeling good. That's a relief for this American icon's heroes.
"I would love for him to be released back to the wild," said Helberg. "But if not, just get the best living arrangements as possible for him where he can be safe and still enjoy his life."
Specialists say it's still too early to determine whether Freedom will take to the skies again, but with full use of his wings, they say they're hopeful.
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