Bald Eagle Finds Freedom on Fourth of July before Dodgers-Orioles Game
Bird of Prey Now Safely Back at Los Angeles Zoo
Nothing perfectly represents American Independence like beer, baseball and eagles. All screams the same thing, "Freedom!"
On Monday, before the baseball game started between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles, the Dodgers brought two bald eagles from the Los Angeles Zoo.
The eagles will lead the pre-game ceremony by flying down and encircling the stadium as Ray Charles sings "America the Beautiful," as this ultimately symbolizes American freedom.
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Well, that was the plan.
First, the female bald eagle came down, encircled the stadium and landed in the centerfield, and her handler picked her up. Everything seemed to go well until the male bald eagle's turn.
The male bald eagle came down blazing into the stadium and hovered as if he carried all the American pride. As he was about to land, he passed by his handler's gloved hands and flew across the stadium from the outfield grass and then disappeared from view, nowhere to be seen.
How ironic is that? A symbol of American freedom freeing himself from slavery at the first sign of opportunity during Independence Day.
"So the trained bald eagle flying around Dodger Stadium pregame just flew past its handler, out of the park and didn't come back #Murica," tweeted Greg Beacham, a reporter for the Associated Press.
The incident amused everyone in the stadium, prompting posts, comments and videos across all social media platforms.
Here is a video of the incident:
After several innings in the game, the baseball committee announced that they had found the eagle and is already on its way back to Los Angeles Zoo with his handler.
"Happily, our bald eagles are fine + safely back at the Zoo. Although he missed his mark, Chinook waited by the van for his trainer," tweeted the Los Angeles Zoo after several hours.
Just a quick recap, the Los Angeles Dodgers won 7-5 against the Baltimore Orioles.
