An injured bald eagle is on the road to recovery thanks to a local wildlife photographer and officer with Chatham County Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center.

On Wednesday, April 2, officer Joshua Thompson responded to a report of an eagle in distress on Seaforth Beach near Jodan Lake. That call came from Imraan Hemed, a wildlife photographer who was at the beach taking pictures when he noticed the injured bird.

“I was approached by Mr. Hemed, who showed me the eagle and shared that he had been taking pictures of it,” Thompson said. “It had a visible injury to its right side, around the hip area.”

Thompson safely rescued the eagle with Hemed’s guidance and transported it to Holly’s Nest Animal Rescue in Sanford. After an initial examination, authorities took the bird to a raptor veterinarian.

According to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Animal Resource Center, another eagle is believed to have caused the eagle’s injury in a territorial fight. The resource center said it is a common occurrence during nesting season.

For Thompson, this was the first time he has ever handled an eagle.

“We deal with a lot of wildlife — mostly possums and raccoons—and I’ve rescued hawks before, but seeing a bald eagle up close was pretty incredible,” Thompson said. “He was a big guy.”

Thompson said the eagle is now in the process of being returned to the facility for release back into the wild.