Two bald eagles were found in a jam on Monday after the predators got stuck together while fighting over what appeared to be a scrap of food in a Texas family’s yard, authorities said.
Police and fire personnel in Tomball responded and found the two "quarreling" bald eagles clasping each other’s talons in the front of the family’s property, the Tomball Police Department said.
As first responders approached the bald eagles, authorities said the exhausted birds attempted to fly away before collapsing back to the ground, their talons still entwined.
Police called the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife for assistance. Wildlife personnel then suggested that the first responders cover the eagles with a blanket to calm them down.
THE BALD EAGLE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GREAT CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY OF AMERICA'S BIRD
"As police and firefighters approached the battling birds with a firefighter’s jacket, the raptors unclenched their talons from each other and flew away," the police department said.
Police described the situation as "de-escalation at its finest!"
PENNSULVANIA BALD EAGLE POACHING SUSPECT TURNS SELF IN AFTER SHOCKING SLAY OF NEIGHBORHOOD MASCOT
Bald eagles are present year-round throughout Texas as spring and fall migrants, breeders or winter residents, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Nesting occurs from October to July with peak egg-laying happening in December.
The breeding populations are primarily found in the eastern half of Texas and along the state’s coastal counties from Rockport to Houston, the agency said. The non-breeding, or wintering, populations are typically found in the Panhandle, Central and East Texas, and other suitable habitats throughout the state.
The birds feed most often on fish, though they also eat a variety of waterfowl and other birds, small mammals and turtles when the predators can find these sources of food, the agency said.
