A male bald eagle, found with a broken chest bone and burns after an electrocution incident in California in December 2025, has been released back into the wild. The bird's recovery took six months at the SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
Rescuers transported the eagle to the center after discovering its injuries. According to the SPCA, the electrocution caused a slow-developing injury, the full extent of which became apparent over several weeks. The bird underwent an extensive rehabilitation program, including physical therapy, to heal.
"He needed quite a few months of cage rest, where we were not moving his wing at all, allowing that bone to heal," Beth Brookhouser of SPCA Monterey County told The Monterey County Weekly. "Then once the bone was healed, we needed to start slow physical therapy with him, which, with a wild animal, as you can imagine, is not a very easy task."
The eagle was released on June 19, just ahead of the United States' 250th anniversary. Video shared by the rescue team captured the moment of its flight.
"After more than 25 weeks in our care, this bald eagle is flying free once again," the SPCA stated on Facebook. "When he arrived at SPCA Monterey County's Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in December, he was suffering from a broken coracoid—a critical bone for flight—and signs of electrocution. Through months of specialized care, medication, and rehabilitation, he regained the strength he needed to return to the wild."
The organization expressed gratitude to its supporters and donors for aiding the eagle's recovery. The SPCA Monterey County is the sole full-service wildlife rescue center in its region, attending to over 2,500 animals annually, ranging from songbirds to raptors. Power line electrocutions are identified by the Association of Avian Veterinarians as a common cause of injury among large wild raptors.