They don’t have names — just numbers — they don’t have the trademark white heads and they didn’t even want to fly when they were first released. But for the first time in 15 years, two bald eagles under the care of the Wildlife Center of Virginia were released into the wild at Pocahontas State Park in front of about 400 people.
Both birds were found in distress earlier this summer: one in Hopewell and one in Chesterfield County.
According to the Wildlife Center, one of the fledglings seemed to have fallen out of its nest after eating lead and probably suffered a broken pelvis. The other was found emaciated by the side of the road. Rehabilitation of the eagles involved teaching them to hunt and making sure they could get around…