Injured Bald Eagle Back On The Wing

NASHVILLE, TN -- A bald eagle found shot in the Duck River last week is soaring once again.

Jordan, as the bird was named by his caretakers at Walden's Puddle, a Nashville wildlife rehab facility, was ready to go and released Friday.

"Thousands of animals are being displaced as a result of the construction,” Lane Brody, CEO of Walden’s Puddle, said in a release. “So this eagle is telling all of us to keep on giving and keep on doing so more of his kind and many of the other 120 species that we care for in a year can also get the care that they need.”

The wildlife recovery center posted a photo of the majestic and "handsome" bird last weekend after someone found him struggling in the mud near the river, saying they are "optimistic" he will recover, but that his injuries were "100 percent preventable."

Bald eagles, along with a number of other birds, are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, a federal law that implemented regulations as part of a treaty between the United States and Great Britain - acting on Canada's behalf - that protects 800 species from being pursued, hunted, taken or otherwise killed or harassed. Since the initial treaty, the United States has entered into similar conventions with Mexico, Russia and Japan.

There are precious few exceptions to the law - certain Native American tribes are allowed, for example, to take bald eagle feathers for religious ceremonies - and largely the killing or movement of any of the birds require a special and rare permit from the Department of the Interior.

Photo via Walden's Puddle