Seflies with wild animals in the background are common. However, a selfie with an eagle beside humans is a rare event.
It was what happened on Tuesday to Canadian brothers Michael and Neil Fletcher from Chelmsford, Ontario, who found a bald eagle caught in a trap in a bush near Windy Lake, reports Sudbury Star. The brothers were actually looking for some grouse to shoot.
Michael recounts there were driving on an open cut and he thought he saw an eagle, so he backed the truck, but the bird was gone. They explored the area on foot and found a set of quad tracks. They saw a gut file and some movement where they discovered the eagle trapped.
Its talons were caught, and it took the brothers several tries which included placing a hoodie over the frightened bird to calm it. The two initially thought of contacting the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry but decided to free the bird first and then contact the ministry later.
While Michael and Neil were attempting to free the eagle, their brown pet Labrador was watching the rescue. After the two managed to free the eagle by pressing on the trap's release mechanism, they had a selfie where the bird with one of the two holding the bird's feet before releasing it, giving selfies with avian a higher benchmark, notes Mashable.
"It didn't really fuss or give any sign of aggression ... I don't know if it knew we were helping him, or what," Michael shares.
The brothers also posted a series of videos on Facebook of their attempt to free the eagle from the trap. The video has gone viral with more than 127,000 views.
They contacted the ministry which thanked them for setting the eagle free. Michael adds that the ministry said it would contact the trapper if he could set the trap differently.