On July 4, Brett Bacon and his family were enjoying a boat ride across Lake Windermere in British Columbia, about 130 miles from the United States border, when they spotted a “giant bird” struggling on the water.
As they approached the flailing bird, Bacon handed the wheel to his partner Lindsey, who captured the brave effort on video. As he hung himself over the side of the boat to reach the raptor, he realized it was a young bald eagle.
“When I pulled it out of the water, I was like, ‘holy s- -t, this is a big bird.’ And then I saw his feet,” Bacon told The Post of the “juvenile” bird’s sizable talons.
Now, Americans on social media are thanking Bacon for his compassion towards the symbolic animal.
“I have some American friends up here celebrating Independence Day,” he said, adding he couldn’t wait to tell them about the timely event. “I think that’s a pretty good little bit of karma.”
The video, originally posted to Bacon’s Instagram account @BBacon88, has been shared widely on social media, with over 1.7 million views on one viral content page.
Brett BaconInstagram/@BBacon88
“I almost was like, ‘turn off the camera like help me do this!’” Bacon said of his cohort. “But she kept filming, luckily, and it kind of all came together.”
“I’m really glad she did because it’s been a pretty hilarious response,” said Bacon, who also celebrated his 32nd birthday on Thursday.
In fact, Bacon had made one other rescue attempt, but the bird quickly fell back into the water when he tried to release the anxious animal from the boat.7
The marketing director from Alberta, who calls himself the “least outdoorsy” of his friends, claimed the “nature shows” he watched as a kid came in handy during the event. “All that just came to me,” he said, and told himself to “tuck this eagle’s wings” to prevent potential further injury. “As soon as I did that, he just calmed down.”
Once they brought it back to shore, friends helped make sure the disoriented animal was safe. Later, Bacon was notified by “wildlife officials” that the eagle had been taken to a facility for care, and to give it time to regain strength. The newly-initiated wildlife rescuer also said he was invited to see the bird released back into the wild when deemed ready.
The harrowing footage also shows their baby son, Brooks, looking on as his hero pop consoled the majestic creature. “Had to prove to my son I’m cool,” Bacon captioned on Instagram. He also said he had no fear that the fierce flyer might latch-on to the infant and whisk him away.
“First of all, our kid is massive … like 22 pounds, and he’s five months old,” the proud papa said. “This bird weighed less than our son so I was not worried.”
“[Brooks] was so unfazed,” he added. “Our little guy didn’t even make a peep. So, I’ll have to show that video to them when he’s a little older.”