# Brothers free eagle from trap **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071 "2015-11-30T23:38:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/1 "2015-11-30T23:38:11Z")
A nice story which will particularly appeal to North American Dopers. Two brothers [film themselves](http://www.foxla.com/news/54776669-story) freeing an eagle from a trap. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/2 "2015-12-01T00:01:38Z")
Thanks, **Quartz** , you made my day. Nice work, gentlemen, take a bow. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/3 "2015-12-02T00:02:21Z")
Wonderful story. BBC has been reporting on this and even played footage the brothers took while freeing the eagle. The selfie was a brilliant touch. EDIT: The story in the OP’s link doesn’t show the selfie, or at least it’s not appearing on my browser. You can see it [here](http://mashable.com/2015/11/28/eagle-selfie-brothers-canada/#EFA5xFHzpkq2). ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/4 "2015-12-02T06:17:50Z")
Need more like those guys and a “Boo Hiss” to improper trapping setups. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/5 "2015-12-02T08:00:15Z")
Awesome. Thanks for sharing this, **Quartz**. If any Dopers are near St. Louis they have a good bald eagle viewing program at Pere Marquette State Park - an excellent way to spend a winter Saturday morning. Highly recommended. ETA: here’s the link - [http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/calendar/Pages/Bald-Eagle-Days-at-Pere-Marquette-SP.18Dec2015.aspx](http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/calendar/Pages/Bald-Eagle-Days-at-Pere-Marquette-SP.18Dec2015.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/6 "2015-12-02T14:10:50Z")
1. How was it that the bird was uninjured by the trap? 2. How was it that the bird didn’t shred these guys with its beak and talons while they were trying to handle it? Especially during that selfie, when its head was easily within reach of their faces? ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/7 "2015-12-02T14:16:37Z")
Thanks for sharing. Nice to hear and see some good being done. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/8 "2015-12-02T15:15:15Z")
The hard part was keeping the golden retriever away! 😃 Those boys have the most amazing of Canadian accents. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/9 "2015-12-02T15:47:32Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 1. How was it that the bird was uninjured by the trap? > > 2. How was it that the bird didn’t shred these guys with its beak and talons while they were trying to handle it? Especially during that selfie, when its head was easily within reach of their faces? The guy threw his jacket over the eagle’s head. I have captured songbirds by putting cloth over them. They think it is night and go to sleep. 🙂 It does seem strange that he didn’t attack them when his head was uncovered for the picture. I would like to see what type of trap it was. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/10 "2015-12-02T20:22:28Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 1. How was it that the bird was uninjured by the trap? > > 2. How was it that the bird didn’t shred these guys with its beak and talons while they were trying to handle it? Especially during that selfie, when its head was easily within reach of their faces? I can’t tell from the video what kind of trap or how the bird was caught, but as for question #2 the answer is likely fatigue. The eagle had apparently been struggling to get away for a while before the brothers found him and open mouth indicates panting, a sign of fatigue in some birds. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/11 "2015-12-02T21:13:56Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > 1. How was it that the bird was uninjured by the trap? > > 2. How was it that the bird didn’t shred these guys with its beak and talons while they were trying to handle it? Especially during that selfie, when its head was easily within reach of their faces? Sometimes birds will just "give up’ and let themselves be handled- or killed and eaten. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/12 "2015-12-02T22:01:53Z")
Raptors are fairly intelligent birds, and the entire sport of falconry is based upon working with wild birds. It was probably a combination of fatigue, being hooded, and the bird perhaps having some clue these guys had just got it out of a jam. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/13 "2015-12-03T01:28:37Z")
Plus maybe the guy was holding the bird tight enough to constrain it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/14 "2015-12-03T01:48:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Plus maybe the guy was holding the bird tight enough to constrain it. I believe he is lucky to still have a face. The Founding Fathers should have taken Benjamin Franklin’s advice, and gone for the wild turkey. When folks leave doors at the end of a long hall open, birds fly in, get lost, hide and die. I rescued a grackle by throwing a cloth over it, and one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had is feeling his claws push off from my hand, and watching him fly out of sight. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/15 "2015-12-03T01:49:53Z")
Love the selfie! Great story that makes you smile. As opposed to most news 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/16 "2015-12-03T08:49:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Plus maybe the guy was holding the bird tight enough to constrain it. Eagles are large, enormously strong, apex predators, and presumably like most birds really loathe being held in a manner that restricts them to that degree. They also would not hesitate to use beaks and feet to defend themselves if they really felt threatened. Nope, unless you have control of the head and feet, too, that’s not going to work. It’s more likely they weren’t heavily restraining it, if doing so at all, and the bird just didn’t feel the need to flee instantly. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/17 "2015-12-03T09:06:17Z")
I think the bird knew it was being helped, after having been trapped for who knows how long? It was done. Toast. Totally helpless. Besides being tired and spent. Until the brothers and their dog came along. Great selfie. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/18 "2015-12-03T12:24:30Z")
They’ve posted a couple of their videos: one of their freeing the eagle from the trap, and the other of them releasing the eagle into the air. [https://www.facebook.com/michael.fletcher.984/videos](https://www.facebook.com/michael.fletcher.984/videos) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/19 "2015-12-03T12:34:05Z")
Hey, Dowling, Chelmsford, Windy Lake – those are my old stomping grounds. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071/20 "2015-12-03T19:52:51Z")
Not that I’m wanting these guys to get in trouble, but what’s the legal status of even touching a bald eagle? I thought you weren’t supposed to mess with them in any way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brothers-free-eagle-from-trap/739071.md?page=2)