The male eagles collided midair and crashed into a campsite at Thane Campground two weeks ago.
But that was just the beginning of their problems. The eagles were grounded, stuck to each other like fish on a hook.
One eagle's talons were embedded in the other's beak. The second eagle's talons were stuck in his foe's thigh, said Jaime Sorg, of the Juneau Raptor Center, adding, "They just wouldn't let go."
The raptor center was called to the scene by Jason Layton, operator of the Thane campground, 1 1/2 miles south of Juneau. The campground caters to backpackers.
Layton and a camper ended up pulling the two birds apart because the volunteers with the raptor center "couldn't physically do it," he said.
"That was the hardest part," Sorg said, explaining that bald eagles are capable of gripping their talons at a pressure in excess of 1,000 pounds per square inch.
Because the Juneau Raptor Center lacks an actual center at this time, Sorg cared for the eagles at her home. She kept them in dog crates until their medical regimen was completed.
No one knows why these eagles refused to let go of each other, but Sorg has a pretty good idea of how their fight got started.
Juneau Empire
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