SALEM, N.H. (WHDH) -- A man scouting out hunting ground in Salem, New Hampshire found a bald eagle caught in a trap Thursday afternoon, police said.

Police received a call James Ransom, of Methuen, saying he found the eagle off of Garabedian Drive. Officers found the eagle with his right leg caught in a metal snap type trap, which was set up next to the recently skinned remains of a beaver, police said. It appeared the eagle was trying to eat the beaver and got caught in the trap.

“I think it actually just got caught ‘cause we were walking up the trail and we heard a squeal and a flap, and we thought it had just caught a rabbit or something. So instantly my buddy Scott and I both grabbed our cell phones to get a picture of it and as we got closer it wasn’t going anywhere and it flapped again and it was stuck,” Ransom said.

The officers were able to untangle the eagle's wing from around a small tree and to release the jaws of the trap. The eagle suffered only a minor laceration on one of its talons, where the trap had snapped shut.

Fortunately the eagle was able to fly away after being untangled.

Officers located an identification band containing a serial number on the eagle’s leg.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game determined the trap was legal and not intended for catching the eagle.