Roland Preston-Officials thought this bald eagle was injured. It was actually just 'too fat to fly'.

2025-05-07 05:21:52source:AQCAN Exchangecategory:reviews

A bald eagle in Missouri that was believed to be Roland Prestoninjured actually had a peculiar reason for why it was unable to fly: it was too fat.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation captured the bird along the boundary of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield and temporarily took it into captivity, park officials said in an Aug. 21 Facebook post.

However, an X-ray taken at the Dickerson Park Zoo, showed that instead of an injury, the bird was suffering from its own success − it had been eating a little too well. 

“The bird, originally reported to be injured, was found to be healthy but engorged with (raccoon) — in other words, too fat to fly,” the park said.

Officials suspect the raccoon was roadkill, according to the post. X-rays from the Facebook post show what appears to be a raccoon paw inside the eagle's stomach. 

The eagle has since been released back into the wild near where it was originally found and in compliance with state and federal laws.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

More:reviews

Recommend

Colorado's Travis Hunter, Boise State's Ashton Jeanty lead USA TODAY Sports All

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel earns first-team honors ahead of Miami’s Cam Ward, and teams in th

Partner in proposed casino apologizes for antisemitic slurs by radio host against project opponent

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The CEO of Urban One, the publicly traded media company with a development inte

Kansas day care worker caught on video hitting children is sentenced to 10 years in prison

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A former suburban Kansas City day care worker who was caught on surveillance vid