RENO " Wildlife experts say they're cautiously optimistic that an eagle that crashed through the windshield of a tractor-trailer on a Nevada highway can be released back into the wild in two or three months.
The 15-pound golden eagle with a 7-foot wing span is " doing well" at the Northeastern Nevada Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Spring Creek, its director, Jo Dean, said Sunday.
But it's unclear how the female bird will respond after suffering a slight bone fracture on part of its wing, she said.
Most raptors with broken wings do not sufficiently heal to allow their return to the wild, but that's because their fractures are usually much more severe, she said.
"We set it as best we could and wrapped it," Dean said. "We're all cautiously optimistic, but you never know with birds.
"Eagles are phenomenally tough. I have seen raptors with similar injuries released back into the wild," she said.
A Florida truck driver was driving on Interstate 80 near Wells, when the eagle came crashing into the cab of his truck on March 2.