USS Eaglet Rescued After Swallowing Fish Hook

video embedded from PixCams on YouTube (5:40 minutes) 20 April 2026 Bald eagles eat fish and so do people. Unfortunately our fishing gear can kill eagles with fish hooks that tear the digestive system, lead sinkers that cause lead poisoning, and monofilament that entangles and strangles. We usually don’t see what happens when fishing gear meets wildlife but on Saturday morning 18 April the danger was live on the USS Irvin eaglecam. That morning Irv, the father eagle, brought in a freshly caught fish for his three eaglets. At just two weeks old the youngest waited front and center while his mother Stella fed him. Watchers of PixCams’ live stream saw the moment when the youngster (USS11) ingested a yellow lure with hook and monofilament. It looked bad. Don German, retired manager at USS, notified Tamarack Wildlife Center (TWC) who immediately assessed the video footage, saw the eaglet trying unsuccessfully to eject the fishing gear, and recommended he be rescued for medical evaluation.…