A bald eagle who got hurt and can’t fly again spends the rest of his life at a bird preserve in Missouri. One of his keepers at the World Bird Sanctuary (WBS) noticed something strange about him last month. Kerstin, the keeper, saw Murphy, the eagle, guarding a big hole in the ground. The place was sparsely but carefully decorated with leaves and twigs, and in the middle was a simple rock.
Keeper Kerstin saw Murphy sitting on the rock like an egg later that day. He kept doing this every day. Bald eagle males help raise their young just as much as females do, so this is a very normal thing for a guy to do. “Every now and then, he moves the sticks in his nest and cackles at other eagles that get too close. The charity wrote on Facebook, “We wish Murphy all the luck in the world, but we’re not going to tell him the truth.” “There hasn’t been a rock hatch yet!”
Many people think Murphy is lonely and needs a partner, but the people who run the refuge say he is doing this on his own free will. “Murphy doesn’t live alone! “He lives with two male and two female bald eagles,” WBS said. “He doesn’t want help with his nest, and he doesn’t ask for it! He hasn’t picked a partner, so it’s clear that he wants to do this by himself. He only wants his rock and not real eggs. He’ll get tired of it and give up on it at some point, but we love seeing him take care of it now. Don’t feel sorry for him! He has everything he needs and is very spoiled!”
Last week, very strong winds blew over an eagle’s nest with two chicks in it near Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. One chick died in the autumn, but the other was found and saved by a nest watcher who took it to the Wildlife Hospital at the World Bird Sanctuary. The staff agreed to let Murphy try to care for a real baby. But Murphy, who was 31 at the time, had never raised a chick before. It was a risk but also the chick’s best chance of staying alive. “BabyRock” was taken away, and the chick was put in his pen.
Murphy spent about an hour getting close enough to the eaglet to look at it. Murphy was very interested. He didn’t feed him, though. The next day, the eaglet left the nest to go be with Murphy, and this is when the magic happened. In an update, WBS said, “IT’S HAPPENING!!!!” “MURPHY FEED THE BABY!!!” WBS shared a picture of Murphy holding the baby and said that they will be “as hands-off as possible” to let Murphy and the baby bond as much as possible.
