WATERTOWN, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Three bald eagles were set to go back out into the wild in Watertown Saturday at Thompson’s Point on Lake Pelican. It took less than two months for them on the road to recovery.

The Bramble Park Zoo is home to the only rehabilitation center for wild birds in the entire state of South Dakota, proving to be important to the conservation efforts in the region. Wild bird releases like the eagle release occur routinely, but releasing three at the same time was the most they’ve ever done.

The spectacle is seen by zoo staff and observers as sacred and beautiful. A native drum blessing and prayer is heard as the creatures take off. A record number of people flocked to see these eagles fly.

The Migratory Bird Rehabilitation Program at the zoo has been around

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