“After 31 years at the World Bird Sanctuary, Murphy the bald eagle has finally become a father – well, a foster father. Roger Holloway, the executive director and CFO of the World Bird Sanctuary, says Murphy’s journey into fatherhood began when he showed a unique interest in a rock. ‘This interest in the rock started back in March [2023]…’
“While some eagles have done this in the past at the World Bird Sanctuary, Holloway says it’s not common, especially for a single male eagle. ‘Bald eagles will mate for life when things go well, but Murphy went through this with the rock without having a mate.'”
When a stranded eaglet, first known as 23126, was brought into the sanctuary for care—it’s nest toppled from high winds, taking the life of its sibling—the team turned to Murphy for parenting help.
Enjoy this Nine PBS Living St. Louis report about Murphy, the eagle who tried to hatch a rock, and then became a very successful foster parent.
And in this case, successful means getting the eaglet, renamed Rocky after its short sanctuary stay, back into the wild. This KMOV St. Louis news report has a clip about Rocky’s release:
Learn how a different Rocky was healed and released in Kansas, then watch more videos about eagles and raptors, including:
• An injured bald eagle learns how to fly again
• Eagle eyes: Just how good is eagle vision?
• An endangered Philippine Eagle chick grows up
• Annie and Grinnell, UC Berkeley’s Peregrine Falcon Parents
Bonus: Cheesecake the capybara fosters puppies.
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