Two bald eagles physically locked in a likely mating ritual caught the attention of police in Apple Valley before taking flight once more.

The eagles had become entangled Monday and grounded on 133rd Street near Garden View Drive, police said.

Just as officers called to the scene neared the birds, they freed themselves and soared off, police said.

Eagles mate 10 months out of the year, according to the nonprofit Raptor Resource Project in Decorah, Iowa.

A similar complication occurred in May 2018 in western Wisconsin along a bike trail just outside of Downsville, where sheriff's officers came to the aid of two eagles and freed them from their embrace.

And more than five years ago in Duluth, two bald eagles got locked together by their talons in midair and crash-landed onto a runway at the city's airport.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482