Wildlife photographers are frequently embracing all sort of dangerously situations or extreme weather condition to capture breathtaking snaps of wildlife. While their role should be only to observe, there have been so many times when photographers broke the protocols to save a wild animal’s life. And this Polish photographer is no different.
Krzysztof Chomicz didn’t hesitate to put his life on the line, to rescue an eagle trapped in the mud. Krzysztof was taking some photos near Swinoujscie, in north-west Poland when spotted the giant bird struggling to get out of the mud. The bird looked worn out as its efforts to escape the trap brought it to exhaustion. The photographer knew he had to do something, otherwise the eagle would drown.
Krzysztof grabbed a rope to prevent himself of getting stuck in the mud, too, and headed to the bird. It was a difficult way through the mud, as the eagle was nearly 100 feet away. When reached it, the bird got panicked and even attacked the photographer. In the end it calmed down and the brave man was abled to get it out of there.
Once he reached the land, the firefighters have arrived at the scene too and the poor bird was taken to an animal shelter. Thanks to the quick-thinking photographer, the 6-month old white-tailed eagle got a second chance too life. After gave it the proper care, the staff at the shelter named the bird ‘Icarus,’ after the Greek mythology hero. Shortly after, Icarus made a fully recover and it was then released in released in Wolin National Park.
Watch here the dramatic rescue: