A hiker in Thomaston found the bald eagle unable to fly and alerted state environmental conservation police, according to an agency Facebook post. Because the temperature was in the 20s, the eagle had to be warmed, and the officer who transported the bird wrapped it in his uniform jacket, the photo shows.
Named the nation’s symbol in 1782, bald eagles were nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states by the 1960s due to pesticides, illegal hunting and loss of habitat. Conservation measures since then have brought the majestic raptor back throughout the country and in Connecticut.
The first post-DDT nesting territory in the state was established in 1992.