Bald eagle, 31, who perched on a rock believed to be an egg, becomes proud adoptive father to injured baby eagle
- The 31-year-old Murphy has lived at the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri for the past 30 years, and is now a proud dad after quarantine protection since March
- A video posted by the sanctuary showed the bird’s enduring loyalty to the rock – which it apparently mistook for unpeeled offspring.
- Almost immediately, Murphy’s adoration of the stone becomes apparent – with the gentle bird becoming ‘unmanageable’ and protective the closer he is.
An elderly bald eagle that has gone viral for accidentally incubating a rock instead of an egg has been given an eagle of its own – after its caretakers found themselves intrigued by the bird’s design.
Murphy, 31, has lived at the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri for the past 30 years and is now a proud father, having faithfully protected the stone since March.
A video posted by the sanctuary showed the bird’s unyielding sense of obligation to the rock — which it apparently mistook for unmolted offspring surrounded by a “simple” nest, staff said.
Almost immediately, Murphy’s adoration of the Stone becomes apparent – the gentle bird becoming ‘unmanageable’ and protective the closer he is.
It is not uncommon for male eagles to search for objects to cuddle during the spring mating season, when both males and females are tasked with protecting their nests.
Since capturing the hearts of millions, the bird’s resilience has kept its guards at bay – and has made it the ‘obvious choice’ for adoptive parent for the injured two-week-old eagle brought to the sanctuary this month.
Murphy, an elderly bald eagle that went viral for accidentally incubating a rock instead of an egg for weeks, was given a vulture last week by staff at the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri.
A video posted by the sanctuary showed the bird’s unyielding sense of obligation to the rock – which it apparently mistook for unhatched offspring surrounded by a ‘simple’ nest.
Shown here is the stone that Murphy mistook for an egg in March – prompting the Guardians to tap him as an adoptive father after being inspired by his fatherly sense of duty
“Murphy and his new pal are bonding beautifully,” the sanctuary wrote in a social media update posted Sunday after gifting Murphy the Falcon of the Week.
An accompanying video showed Murphy — who has been flightless his whole life due to a permanent injury to his wing — showing his new baby how to eat.
If you watch carefully, you can see Murphy waiting for the baby to eat. The staff explained that when the child does not eat right away, he takes a little bit of food, and then the child begins to eat.
“That’s the kind of bonding we’re looking for.”
The shelter proceeded to praise Murphy for “mimicking the behavior of an eagle perfectly,” and also for “being an amazing, kind dad.”
But for weeks, the bird hasn’t been so cute—the hormones from its species have often been seen during the spring months causing it to descend into stone.
It was a regular rockstar, Don Griffard, CEO of World Bird Sanctuary, said of the event, which will soon evolve into a social media sage.
“It didn’t look like an egg, but he insisted on incubating it.”
Murphy, 31, has lived on the sanctuary for the past 30 years and is now bonding with two-week-old eagle, who was brought to the sanctuary this month.
Staff said the hatchling, who has not yet been named because of a long-standing aviculture superstition, nearly died in a storm last month, but is now doing well with his new parent.
