On a sunny summer evening along the Rogue River in Southern Oregon, wildlife rehabilitators, ambassadors, and fans waited in eager anticipation for an event that was never supposed to happen.
When Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center adopted Phantom the bald eagle over a year ago, he was already months deep into treatment for a soft-tissue injury in his foot. The injured bird was found outside Sacramento, California, in November 2023, and it was quickly determined that he would not be eligible for release back into the wild. The Grants Pass, Oregon, wildlife center adopted him, alongside a second bald eagle, intending to keep them as animal ambassadors, but Phantom soon proved them wrong.
On July 7, Phantom finally spread his wings and tasted freedom, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd. Take a look at this majestic, magical moment.
Go, Phantom! It’s awe-inspiring to see how far he’s come when, less than two years ago, he was unable to fly to his enclosure’s highest perch. While his original rescuers did their best to rehabilitate him for release into the wild, everything changed when the inspiring bald eagle was adopted by the Oregonian wildlife rescue.
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Because this brave rescue eagle showed excellent survival skills like flying, hunting, and a healthy fear of humans, his rehabilitators and trainers received special permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify Phantom as releasable. Now that he’s free, he’s officially considered a wild animal!
Phantom and Fury
This must have been tear-jerking to witness in person, especially for the wildlife rehabilitators who helped him soar (literally) and the extraordinary ladies who had the honor of opening his cage.
When Wildlife Images adopted the young bald eagle alongside an even younger female bird, board member Shawntai Chapman bid for the chance to name them in honor of her late brother-in-law, United States Marine Corps Sergeant Marty Gonzalez. With input from her sister and Gonzalez’s widow, Tawnee, they chose the names Phantom and Fury, inspired by Operation Phantom Fury, in which Marty served in 2004.
Shawntai, Tawnee, and Alyssa, who is the daughter of Tawnee and Gonzalez, had the honor of letting Phantom fly free. Fury, the female eagle who will likely never be eligible for release, is still on track to become an animal ambassador at Wildlife Images.
What an incredible tale of resilience, compassion, and hope. Congratulations, Phantom!
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