Polish wildlife photographer crawls through mud to rescue stranded eagle

SWINOUJSCIE, Poland, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- A nature photographer in Poland was filmed by a drone when he waded out into thick coastal mud to rescue a stranded white eagle.

Krzysztof Chomicz said he consulted with local firefighters in the town of Swinoujscie and other means of trying to rescue the eagle failed before he decided to venture out into the mud himself July 26.

The drone video shows Chomicz carefully making his way through the mud to reach the eagle while attached to a rope tethering him to dry land.

The video shows the eagle struggle and attack its rescuer, but Chomicz was able to carry the bird of prey to safety.

A second video shows the estimated 6-month-old eagle, dubbed Icarus, being cared for by wildlife conservation workers before being transferred to a refuge in Szczecin.

Experts said the flight that landed Icarus in the mud may have been the bird's first attempt at flying.