Mushroom Pickers Find Injured Eagle and Catch It with Bare Hands

In the Strakonice region of South Bohemia, two families out picking mushrooms stumbled upon an injured eagle and managed to save the bird of prey using nothing but their own hands. The incident took place near Droušní Vrch hill, on the border between the Strakonice and Klatovy districts.

"We were out picking mushrooms when we suddenly saw an eagle fleeing from a meadow into the forest, stumbling on its wings again and again. It was clear it was injured. We immediately started looking for help and got through to the rescue station in Makov," recalled one of the mushroom pickers, Šárka Šilhanová.

The Eagle Lay Down on the Ground in Front of a Man

Kristýna Nohejlová, a staff member at the rescue station in Makov near Písek, set off for the scene right away. But while she was still en route, the mushroom pickers decided to try catching the bird themselves, worried the injured predator might vanish into the woods. Over the phone, the rescuer only had time to give them one piece of advice: put on gloves.

"My daughter and I were watching. He was sitting about ten metres away from us on a branch lying on the ground, looking at us. My husband walked up to him and started talking to him. But the eagle reacted in an unexpected way — it lay down on the ground, looked at my husband, and just waited to see what would happen next. It was an incredible moment," Šilhanová recalled.

The man then calmly picked up the bird and folded its wings. "The eagle gently gripped his finger with its beak but let go immediately. Our daughter covered the bird with a sweater," the woman added. According to her, friends — Jan Valach and his family — also took part in the rescue alongside her own family.

A Broken Leg and Surgery in Kralupy

The rescued eagle was placed in a carrier, and the group waited on the village square for the rescuers from Makov to arrive. "At first we took him to Týn, but the X-ray revealed more serious injuries. So in the end we went to the Mada veterinary clinic in Kralupy, to Dr. Elena Vajdlová," said Kristýna Nohejlová from the rescue station.

The diagnosis was confirmed: the eagle had a broken leg and needed surgery. The bird is now recovering at the clinic. According to ringing station records, the eagle is ten years old and comes from the area near Číhtice, close to Bavorov. It's not yet known whether the bird is male or female — sex is determined through a blood test, and the results aren't in yet. "Judging by its size, it's most likely a female," Nohejlová suggested.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz