Cops Rescue Injured Bald Eagle in Hudson River

A bald eagle adrift on a slab of ice in the Hudson River ended up with a police escort instead of a grim fate. New York Police Department harbor officers say they spotted the injured bird Tuesday morning near the George Washington Bridge, "calling out for help" while it floated on broken ice, USA Today reports. Video shows Harbor Unit officers easing a loop over the eagle and towing the ice chunk toward their boat before hauling the raptor aboard.

The bird's sex, age, and exact injuries weren't immediately known, though one officer can be heard noting a bleeding talon. Members of the Harbor Unit took the eagle to an animal sanctuary in New Jersey for treatment, NBC New York reports. A similar save was made a day earlier in Bradenton, Florida, where officers and wildlife experts rescued a roughly 4-year-old male bald eagle with a fractured wing and infection. That bird, nicknamed "Freedom," is expected to recover and return to the wild.