VERNON, Connecticut — The bald eagle that was rescued on Interstate 84 has been euthanized after veterinarians found a joint injury on the bird.
The bald eagle was rescued by a Connecticut State Police dispatcher on Saturday.
On Saturday, the eagle was taken to Tufts Wildlife Clinic at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, according to Dr. Maureen Murray, director at the Tufts Wildlife Clinic. When the veterinarians at the clinic performed a physical exam and took radiographs, it was revealed that the eagle had a fracture of one leg at the hock joint.
Due to the close proximity of the joint, the possibility of restoring the fracture and having pain-free mobility was poor.
"While the Clinic’s primary goal is always to treat and release its patients back into the wild, due to the severity of the injury, the difficult but humane decision to euthanize the bird was made," Dr. Murray said in a statement.
According to officials, troopers found the downed eagle in the center median of Interstate 84 east on the Vernon-Tolland town line. They helped to slow the traffic down to help the bird.
Troopers tried to get the eagle to move to the safer right shoulder, but the "language barrier" led to "communication issues," state police said.
That's when Troop C Dispatcher Gambacorta stepped in to help. Cambacorta also serves as a local animal control officer, and she responded to assist in wrangling the bird, letting it know it was "il-eagle" to be on the highway.
Gambacorta and the other troopers worked "wing in wing" to help take the bald eagle into custody, take it away from the highway, and release it into the possession of Horizon Wings Raptor Rehabilitation in Ashford. Police did not say whether or not the bird would face any charges.
State police say that Gambacorta performed a "claw-some" job and is a multi-"talon" ted rescuer.
State police said they salute Gambacorta and all state trooper dispatchers every day, but especially during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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