PHOENIX (AP) - A bald eagle has been released into the wild four months after undergoing surgery for a shattered leg bone.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department says the 3-year-old eagle was released recently at Horseshoe Reservoir northeast of metro Phoenix.
According to the department, the bird somehow shattered its left femur and was found in February on the ground at a Queen Creek dairy.
A Liberty Wildlife medical team used a metal rod and screws to repair the damaged leg.
Raptor biologist Kyle McCarty says the surgery gave the eagle "another shot at survival" and that it will in a few years become old enough to breed and help bolster Arizona's eagle population.
The bird was released June 24 after being fitted with a GPS transmitter to help track its movements.
