This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/murphy-eagle-rock-baby.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| There Are Stories of Animals Being Quirky, and Murphy the Eagle Is One | There Are Stories of Animals Being Quirky, and Murphy the Eagle Is One |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| NASHVILLE — When Murphy, a bald eagle, began to spend all his time sitting on the ground in his enclosure at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Mo., in March, visitors were worried. Owing to an injury in his youth, Murphy can’t fly, but he’d always been able to walk, to hop, to climb onto low perches in the aviary. Why was he suddenly huddling on the ground and squawking at any birds who ventured near? | NASHVILLE — When Murphy, a bald eagle, began to spend all his time sitting on the ground in his enclosure at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Mo., in March, visitors were worried. Owing to an injury in his youth, Murphy can’t fly, but he’d always been able to walk, to hop, to climb onto low perches in the aviary. Why was he suddenly huddling on the ground and squawking at any birds who ventured near? |
| Was he hurt? Sick? Bald eagles are particularly vulnerable to the avian flu now sweeping the country. Sanctuary staff members got so many questions that they put up a sign on the eagle enclosure explaining that Murphy was neither ill nor newly injured. Murphy was preparing to be a dad. | Was he hurt? Sick? Bald eagles are particularly vulnerable to the avian flu now sweeping the country. Sanctuary staff members got so many questions that they put up a sign on the eagle enclosure explaining that Murphy was neither ill nor newly injured. Murphy was preparing to be a dad. |
| The internet has been besotted with this eagle since he decided to incubate a rock. | The internet has been besotted with this eagle since he decided to incubate a rock. |
| Murphy was devoted to RockBaby, as followers on social media immediately dubbed the not-at-all-egg-shaped rock, and very serious about his parental responsibilities. He carefully rotated RockBaby exactly as he would have rotated a real egg, making sure the heat from his own body was evenly distributed. He became so protective of his darling rock, expanding the no-fly perimeter he had established around his rudimentary nest so much that sanctuary staffers finally moved Murphy and RockBaby to a separate space to give their four aviarymates a little peace. | Murphy was devoted to RockBaby, as followers on social media immediately dubbed the not-at-all-egg-shaped rock, and very serious about his parental responsibilities. He carefully rotated RockBaby exactly as he would have rotated a real egg, making sure the heat from his own body was evenly distributed. He became so protective of his darling rock, expanding the no-fly perimeter he had established around his rudimentary nest so much that sanctuary staffers finally moved Murphy and RockBaby to a separate space to give their four aviarymates a little peace. |
| Murphy would have abandoned RockBaby once the hormone surge of nesting season subsided. But then an orphan bald eagle chick arrived at the sanctuary. The eaglet was at most two weeks old, still young enough to imprint on a new caregiver. The internet was filled with hope: Here was Murphy’s chance! | Murphy would have abandoned RockBaby once the hormone surge of nesting season subsided. But then an orphan bald eagle chick arrived at the sanctuary. The eaglet was at most two weeks old, still young enough to imprint on a new caregiver. The internet was filled with hope: Here was Murphy’s chance! |