UPDATE: Bald eagle found on I-84 euthanized for severe injuries

VERNON, CT (WFSB) - State police said, a bald eagle found itself on the center median of I-84 eastbound on the Tolland-Vernon town line.

On Saturday Apr. 8 around 7:30 p.m., troopers slowly approached it to identify if it was injured.

They required assistance from a dispatcher who also served as a local Animal Control Officer who removed the bald eagle safely from the highway.

Troopers worked wing in wing to take the bald eagle into custody, transport it, and release it into the custody of Tufts Wildlife Clinic at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Maureen Murray, the Director at Tufts Wildlife Clinic, explained that the bald eagle had presumably been hit by a car.

Veterinarians at the clinic performed a physical examination and took radiographs of the eagle which revealed a fracture of one leg at the hock joint.

They determined that the repair of the fracture and restoration of normal, pain-free mobility was very poor.

Due to the severity of the injury, the clinic made a difficult but human decision to euthanize the bird.

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