The Eagle Has Landed: Oregon Zoo's Eagle Back Home Safe

The Oregon Zoo's eagle is back home safe.

On Tuesday, caregivers were working with Deschutes, a Golden Eagle, training for the zoo's summer education programs when he was chased away by a murder of crows.

Deschutes was adopted by the Zoo after he was hit by a car in central Oregon 12 years ago. The crash left him blind in his right eye and unable to hunt for himself.

"He’s a rescued bird,” zoo curator Michael Illig had said after he flew off. “He’s not fully equipped to take care of himself in the wild, and he relies on us for his meals.”

Dechutes has been a regular performer in the Zoo's Wildlife Live shows during the summer.

He is equipped with two small radio transmitters but that apparently none of that was necessary - he found his way home.\

“He’s a brown bird in a thickly forested area, so it’s difficult to spot him without telemetry,” Illig said. “As long as he can see us, he’ll come down. I’m sure he’s pretty hungry after a night out on his own.”