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Jed Boal ReportingTwo weeks ago, a bald eagle at Tracy Aviary stretched her wings and flew off looking for freedom. She found it, but life in the wild might have been a bit more than she bargained for.
The American Bald Eagle is our national symbol because of its independence, great strength and majestic looks. We'd better add survivor to that list.
The bald eagle, icon of the wild, her spirit of freedom exemplifies what it means to be American.
Tim Brown, Tracy Aviary Executive Director: "She just caught a thermal and went for it."
So it's hard to blame Anami for flying off from Tracy Aviary during a training session more than two weeks ago.
Tim Brown, Tracy Aviary Executive Director: "Tracy Aviary has a new promotion called join the migration. Anami took that quite literally as she took off."
Her trainers feared the seven-year-old would not survive in the wild. Anami is blind in her left eye and cannot successfully hunt. They thought Anami could last only one or two weeks without food.
"People have been looking to the sky, trying to find the bald eagle."
If they found her, they expected her to head north. Sure enough, Anami turned up near Idaho Falls, about 250 miles away.
A deputy spotted the eagle in a farmer's field, odd behavior for a bird more accustomed to a perch. They think she survived on deer and moose roadkill.
Tim Brown, Tracy Aviary Executive Director: "There's probably more of that available this time of year. She probably just scavanged for two weeks. Bald eagles do that."
She lost 14 ounces, 10 percent of her body weight.
Tim Brown, Tracy Aviary Executive Director: "She's also filthy and smells."
A transmitter attached to Anami might have helped find her, but it has a range of 100 miles.
Anami returned tonight. She wasn't taking visitors and will be quarantined for 30 days. She was in training for one of the bird shows. She should be back in the show in a month.
