Eaglet rescued 2 days after teen charged with killing bald eagle
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two days after a 17-year-old was arrested for shooting a bald eagle to death, officials say an eaglet has been rescued from its nest.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a forester was able to carefully remove the 5-6 week old eaglet on Thursday morning. A preliminary examination indicated that the eaglet was dehydrated and had not been fed, officials said.
The young eagle was given fluids and was kept at The Wildlife Center of Texas overnight.
Orlando David Delgado is charged with allegedly shooting the bald eagle to death on Tuesday near White Oak Bayou.
A resident alerted Harris County Sheriff's deputies that he saw three men standing near the base of a tree where an American bald eagle had nested for a few years. One of the men was armed with a rifle.
When deputies arrived, Delgado told the investigators that he shot the eagle with a high-powered pellet rifle.
He told deputies the initial shot didn't kill the bird, so he shot it several more times.
Delgado was charged with hunting without landowners consent, which is a class A misdemeanor. Game wardens also issued an additional citation for "take of a state threatened species."
