A Male Bald Eagle That Was Trying To Hatch A Rock Has Been Given A Chick To Raise

A bald eagle that can’t fly due to permanent injuries is spending its days at a bird sanctuary in Missouri.

Recently, one of his caretakers at the World Bird Sanctuary (WBS) noticed something unusual. Keeper Kerstin observed Murphy the eagle guarding a large hole in the ground.

The area was neatly decorated with leaves and branches and had a single rock placed in the middle.

Later that day, Keeper Kerstin noticed Murphy sitting on the rock as if it were an egg, and he kept doing so day after day. Male bald eagles are involved in raising their young, so this behavior is quite natural for a male eagle.

“Every now and then, he rearranges the sticks in his ‘nest’ and warns other eagles that come too close. We wish Murphy all the best, but we’re not telling him the truth,” the nonprofit wrote on Facebook. “We haven’t seen a rock hatch yet!”

Many people think that Murphy is lonely and needs a mate, but the sanctuary keepers say he’s doing this by choice. “Murphy is not lonely! He lives with 4 other bald eagles – 2 males and 2 females,” WBS said.

“He doesn’t want help with his ‘nest,’ and he’s not looking for it! He hasn’t picked a mate, so he clearly wants to do this alone. He only cares about his rock, not real eggs. Eventually, he’ll get bored and leave it, but we enjoy watching him take care of it now. No need to feel sorry for him! He’s happy and very spoiled!”

Last week, strong winds blew down an eagle nest with two chicks near Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. One chick died, but the other was rescued and brought to World Bird Sanctuary’s Wildlife Hospital by a nest watcher. The staff decided to let Murphy try fostering the baby.

However, at 31 years old, Murphy had never raised a chick before. It was a risk, but the chick’s best chance at survival. “BabyRock” was taken away, and the chick was introduced to Murphy’s enclosure.

It took Murphy about an hour to get close to the eaglet and check it out. Murphy was definitely curious. But he didn’t feed the eaglet. The next day, the eaglet left the nest to get closer to Murphy — and that’s when something amazing happened.

“IT’S HAPPENING!!!!” WBS said in an update. “MURPHY FED THE BABY!!!!” WBS posted a photo of Murphy with the baby and said they will be “as hands-off as possible” to let Murphy and the baby bond as much as possible.