Benjamin Ashford|Officials thought this bald eagle was injured. It was actually just 'too fat to fly'.

A bald eagle in Missouri that was believed to be Benjamin Ashfordinjured actually had a peculiar reason for why it was unable to fly: it was too fat.

Officials with the Missouri Department of Conservation captured the bird along the boundary of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield and temporarily took it into captivity, park officials said in an Aug. 21 Facebook post.

However, an X-ray taken at the Dickerson Park Zoo, showed that instead of an injury, the bird was suffering from its own success − it had been eating a little too well. 

“The bird, originally reported to be injured, was found to be healthy but engorged with (raccoon) — in other words, too fat to fly,” the park said.

Officials suspect the raccoon was roadkill, according to the post. X-rays from the Facebook post show what appears to be a raccoon paw inside the eagle's stomach. 

The eagle has since been released back into the wild near where it was originally found and in compliance with state and federal laws.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.