One of the animal kingdom's most majestic creatures is getting a second chance to soar.
After nursing a young bald eagle back to health, the Treasure Coast Wildlife Center released it back into the wild on Tuesday.
"We don't know exactly what it's going to be able to do from here on out, but at least we know it's doing it with its full faculties," says Dan Martinelli, executive director of the Treasure Coast Wildlife Center.
The moment was the culmination of months of hard work for the wildlife center.
"It's always a special event when you return a wild animal to the wild where it belongs," Martinelli says.
Getting there wasn't an easy road.
The eagle was found in western Martin County, emaciated and unable to fly.
Rescuers brought the eagle here to the wildlife center, which houses other grounded birds.
"Rest, recuperation and a very good diet has returned the bird to flight-ability," Martinelli says. "It was then conditioned for release in our flight cage where it was able to attain the stamina necessary for functioning in the wild."
All of that lead to Tuesday's majestic moment.
The wildlife center called on county commissioner elect Ed Ciampi to do the honors.
"We have this unbelievable resource in our community that could take a bird, America's symbol, that otherwise might have passed away," Ciampi says. "The opportunity to support them is always a yes for me."
Now America's symbol, a symbol of freedom, is experiencing a new freedom of it's own.
The wildlife center says if all goes well, the eagle will find a mate and establish a nesting territory in three to four years.
