'Glen,' Bald Eagle, Rescued By Good Samaritan And North Spokane Veterinarian (VIDEO)

Good Samaritans Team Up To Rescue Bald Eagle

A good samaritan and a veterinarian in North Spokane, Wash., are being credited with saving the life of an injured bald eagle.

ABC News reports that Robert Hutton was driving home from work the evening of June 1 when he spotted the injured eagle "struggling in the middle of the road" at an intersection. He stopped traffic, got out of his car and wrapped the rare bird in a blanket from the back of his truck.

"The bird's claws were just as big as my hands," Hutton told ABC News.

Hutton then rushed the injured eagle to Mt. Spokane Veterinary Hospital, which specializes in taking care of wildlife, according to KXLY-TV.

The bird was placed under the care of Dr. Luther McConnell, who thought that it had either been hit by a car or eaten something toxic. He carefully flushed out the bird's stomach and then administered an intravenous drip of fluids and antibiotics, according to the station.

ABC News reports that the bird was kept in a cage for the first 24 hours of its stay. It struggled to breathe and was barely able to open its eyes.

Doctors think that the bird, who was named "Glen" by hospital staff, has a 30 percent chance of survival, but hope that he will recover and one day be able to be released back into the wild.

Once devastated by the pesticide DDT, which poisoned its food supply, bald eagles have made a comeback and were removed from the federal threatened and endangered species list in 2007.

The bird is a symbol of the United States, and plays an important role in the beliefs of some American Indian tribes.

In 2011, a webcam Ustream channel was set up to observe a bald eagle nest on land near the Decorah Fish Hatchery in Iowa. Since then, thousands of people have tuned in to the channel every spring to watch bald eagle chicks hatch.

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