A bald eagle was caught in a coyote trap in Missouri, but help was on the way

A bald eagle got a new lease on life thanks to a Missouri conservation agent and a coyote trapper.

The eagle had been snared by a coyote trap in Cedar County, northwest of Springfield near Stockton Lake, according to a Missouri Department of Conservation Facebook post on Tuesday.

The trapper, worried the eagle’s foot was broken, contacted Conservation Agent Tyler Green.

Green and the trapper met at the trap. Green used a heavy blanket to secure the eagle as the trapper released the smooth-jawed steel trap from its clench on the eagle’s foot.

Because the trapper had checked his implements daily, as required, the eagle was found before it starved or died of dehydration, the MDC said in the Facebook post.

The eagle was released back into the wild with little more than a swollen foot.

“He was definitely ready to go,” Green told the Springfield News-Leader.

Bald eagles have proliferated in the area around Stockton Lake, with an estimated population of 50 as of last year’s count.

A number of eagle-related events hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation are scheduled in multiple locations in January. Call 417-888-4237 for more information.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "A bald eagle was caught in a coyote trap in Missouri, but help was on the way."