After five hours of surgery, the bald eagle that sustained serious injuries from a shotgun blast and a crash into a moving car was alert and eating Tuesday.

According to a press release, Dr. Terri Hanley, head of the ISU Wildlife Care Clinic, said the eagle is up, alert and doing as well as expected. However, Hanley said the bird cannot eat on its own because of a cracked beak.

The bird crashed into the front windshield of a Des Moines woman’s car Friday, as she traveled to Wal-Mart in Des Moines. The driver, Sandy Freihage, said she didn’t see the bird until it was lying on the floor of her car.

Freihage said she remembers hearing a big crash, and glass from her front windshield flying everywhere.

“First I slammed on my brakes, but I couldn’t stop … ” Freihage said.

Although Freihage said she could see the eagle’s talons, she couldn’t identify the bird. “At first I thought it was dead because it wasn’t moving,” she said.

But after she went to a gas station, the eagle started to move while Freihage was talking to her husband on the phone. She immediately dialed 911.

“It was moving in the floor board and then it stood up,” Freihage said. “I was afraid it was going to mess up my interior. I just knew it was going to rip up my seats.”

The bird was transported to ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Care Clinic by a conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Not until later did Freihage find out the large four-year-old, 12 and a half pound eagle had four pellet wounds, which may have caused it to crash into her car.

The eagle, which is thought to be female, sustained a pellet wound in each wind pipe and two in the body. The four pellets will remain in the eagle, Hanley said, because they do not pose a threat to its health.

The eagle’s left wing incurred substantial damage. During the five-hour surgery Monday afternoon, an orthopedic surgeon tried mending the wing by using pins and plates but was unsuccessful.

Rods were finally inserted through the damaged wing and stabilized on the exterior of the limb. It is unknown if the eagle will fully recover, according to the press release.

In two weeks the bandages will be taken off, but Hanley said it will be at least two months before it is known if the eagle will be able to fly.

If the bird does fully recover, Freihage said she wants to be there when they release it back to the wild.

A $2,500 reward is being offered for anyone with information about the person who may have shot the eagle.