A Bald Eagle at the World Bird Sanctuary finally had the chance to be a dad, and an orphaned eaglet is almost ready to go out on his own. KMOX has been following the progress of Murphy and the fledgling.
Murphy, a permanent resident at the sanctuary, had been nursing a rock as if it were an egg. So when the eaglet was rescued from a downed nest after a storm this spring, handlers decided to put them together.
"Murphy set good examples," says Roger Holloway, Executive Director of the World Bird Sanctuary. But while this may be a feel good story for humans, "with birds of prey, there's really, not a lot of emotion that goes into it." That's why life goes on for Murphy, now that his ward has been taken away and moved into a larger enclosure. "that gives him room to go from the floor to the roof, you know, as far as doing a vertical jump to to get to a higher perch and that way, build up his flight muscles and have more room for flapping and then learning to put the brakes on when he's aiming for a perch. It's kind of like flight school really."
Holloway says the eaglet may be ready for release into the wild in early July.
It's bittersweet. Even though Murphy did a great job modeling bald eagle behavior, it will be a tough go for a young predator. Holloway says few of the young survive their first year on their own.
Murphy will be moved back into his regular public viewing enclosure this Sunday. You can take dad to see him for Father's Day at a special event at 11 am.
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