A man was working on the ocean in Campbell River when he spotted a bald eagle swimming.
At 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, Baek Lee was working as a boom man in Menzies Bay, north of Campbell River, when he noticed an animal splashing in the water.
“I thought it was drowning because I've seen an eagle actually drown in the water just like that,” says Lee.
As he brought his boat closer to help the animal, he realized it was just swimming.
"I thought I'd give him a hand. But he was just fine,” he says.
A video he took shows the eagle swimming to a log and getting out of the water while tightly holding onto its prey.
“He hops onto the log boom with what looks like a cod or snapper,” says Lee.
The fish was about 10 pounds and Lee was shocked that the animal was such a good swimmer.
“That's something I've never seen before,” he says. "Just, you know, grabbing his breakfast. It's pretty neat to see."
Lee has worked as a boom man for a decade and says he sees lots of incredible nature moments.
“We’ve had orcas come in and feast on the seals and humpback whales come in and jump around in the bay,” he says.
While the job is very physically demanding, he says this is definitely the highlight.
