Updated at 12:45 p.m. Saturday with additional information.

An eaglet has been rescued from the nest of a bald eagle that was shot to death by a 17-year-old in Houston.

Two days after the shooting, the 5- to 6-week-old eaglet was found dehydrated and malnourished, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

After the shooting, the dead eagle's mate remained near the nest, indicating fledglings were present, but was not seen bringing food to the nest, authorities said. Multiple wildlife agencies helped rescue the eaglet from the tree, which was over 100 feet tall.

The eaglet was taken to the Wildlife Center of Texas where it was given fluids and fed. It will be cared for at a rehabilitation center until it can survive on its own in the wild.

The shooting

A 17-year-old who admitted to fatally shooting an American bald eagle with a high-powered pellet rifle Tuesday in a Houston neighborhood has been charged.

Orlando David Delgado told police that the bird survived his initial shot, so he fired at it several more times, according to KPRC-TV.

A nearby resident heard a popping noise and approached Delgado and two other men standing beneath the tree where an American bald eagle had nested for years.

The neighbor said that he saw that one of the men was armed with a rifle, spotted the body of the slain bald eagle and called 911.

The bald eagle, the national emblem, is protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act even though it is no longer listed as an endangered species.

Orlando Delgado (Harris County Sheriff's office )

The witness said Delgado and the other men walked up to the bird to pull a feather from its dead body before taking off in a white truck, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Nearby resident Dale Jozwiak watched over the remains until authorities arrived, he told KPRC-TV.

"I've watched the eagle for over five years and thought it was my responsibility to just stand guard over the eagle, where no one would take it away or [have any] disregard of it," Jozwiak told KPRC.

Police later arrested the teen, who told authorities that he shot the eagle with a high-powered pellet rifle.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to prosecute Delgado because of his age, but Game Warden H. R. Volschenk of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department charged the minor with a Class A misdemeanor for hunting without a landowner's consent.

Game wardens also cited him for a Class C misdemeanor for the taking of a threatened species.

Delgado is being held at Harris County jail on a $5,000 bond.

Eric Garcia was exercising on a nearby trail with his father when they spotted the eagle eating a fish. They stopped to watch, because "you don't see that everyday," Garcia told KPRC. When they returned, the bird was dead on the ground.

"It's un-American," Garcia said.