SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) -- A pair of young bald eagles will be released to the wild this weekend following a stint of rehab at the Bramble Park Zoo (BPZ) in Watertown. The pair of birds, both yet to grow into their distinctive white capped plumage, will be released into the wild at Thompson Point, west of Lake Pelican State Park at 1 p.m. Saturday. Mountain lion population goal to stay at 200 to 300 "The darkest bird -- that is a first year bird, so that was hatched this summer," said John Gilman, a zookeeper at BPZ. "The other bird, that's a little more speckled colored, and that's about a four year old." Juvenile bald eagle at Bramble Park Zoo Bald eagles, says Gilman, typically take 5 to 6 years to get their white heads. "The four-year-old bird -- it had a minor wing break at the very tip of its wing. And so that bird's been here since June 22nd," Gilman said. "The juvenile bird was found in Custer State Park on August eight, 2024. So that would have been probably a month or so after the bird actually left the nest." Four-year-old bald eagle at Bramble Park Zoo That younger bird had no injuries, according to the BPZ, but may have become separated from the adults, and was starving. While the younger of the two birds came to the BPZ from across the state, the other one was found much nearer, just east of Watertown near Goodwin, S.D. Gilman says that the BPZ follows U.S. Fish and Wildlife guidelines with rehabilitation, which allow for them to release both birds locally, rather than sending they younger one back to the Black Hills. "As long as you're releasing birds in the proper habitat or their natural range, you're okay," he explained. Gilman added that if circumstances were different -- say the location of the bird's parents was known -- they they would potentially transport the bird back to its original location. There are definite benefits to releasing near Watertown as well, said Gilman. There are established populations of bald eagles in the area, and with waterfowl migration season approaching, there will be prey aplenty for the birds. In addition to hosting rehabbing birds, the BPZ also has a more permanent population of bald eagles. "We've got more eagles in our exhibit right now and they're all non-releasable birds." Gilman explained. "They all have some kind of wing injury in some way, so any time that we have a bird that can be released into the wild and that's healthy enough and fly strong enough by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife guidelines, we have to release that bird." To ensure that birds are ready to return to the wild, Gilman explained that the BPZ had a flight cage in which birds are exercised to see if they're ready to go.