There are animals that are naturally great parents. Some men are better at taking care of their children than women, even though moms are usually seen as the main caregivers.
Take Murphy, a bald eagle that lives at a wildlife shelter, as an example. Before Murphy became famous for loving a rock like it was his own child, he had the chance to really be a father when a young eaglet needed someone to care for it.
Murphy, a bald eagle who is 31 years old and can’t fly, lives at Valley Park, Missouri’s World Bird Sanctuary. The people who were taking care of him began to notice that he was acting oddly.
The staff quickly found out that Murphy had made a nest in his cage and was taking care of a small rock like an egg. Murphy took great care to keep the rock safe because that’s what a caring parent would do. A report in the New York Times says that he would even squawk at other birds that got too close.
So many people were confused by his strange behavior that the refuge finally put up a sign to explain what was going on.
Murphy can be found by the eagle sitting on a perch in the upper left part of the picture. Murphy is not hurt, sick, or going through any other kind of trouble. He is carefully laying eggs on a rock and has built a nest on the ground! We wish him the best!
Murphy’s story quickly went popular and got a lot of different reactions. Other people felt bad for the bald eagle because it was taking care of a “egg” that would never hatch. Fans were told by the shelter that Murphy was very happy, though.
The World Bird Sanctuary wrote on Facebook, “Murphy has built a nest and is incubating a rock as an egg. This may make you sad, but it’s just his spring hormones.” “Being sad isn’t necessary because Murphy isn’t,” she said.
The refuge also made it clear that Murphy is not “alone.” He lives with four other bald birds that are all “extremely spoiled.” Because of an injury that kept him from flying, Murphy needs care all the time at the refuge.
In response to comments that Murphy should be given a chicken or goose egg, the sanctuary said in another post that this would not be safe for the baby and could put it in danger.
Things quickly took a strange turn, though, and Murphy was given the chance to become a real father.
The World Bird Sanctuary says that some very strong winds destroyed the nest in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, killing one of the eaglets. The chick was taken to the Wildlife Hospital at the refuge after it was saved.
The shelter said the chick was “bruised and battered,” but otherwise in good health. As a foster parent, they thought of a way to introduce the chick to one of their adult eagles, and they were thrilled to choose Murphy to play this new role.
On Facebook, they said that Murphy was instinctively a good father, but at age 31, he had never raised a girl. “It’s the girl’s best chance, but it’s additionally a risk.”
Dawn Griffard, CEO of the refuge, told the New York Times, “It was kind of like, how can we not do this?” Let’s give him a chance.
A “baby jail,” which is a wooden box with a frame, was built and put in Murphy’s cage to help him grow. This plan kept Murphy and the eaglet from getting hurt and gave them a chance to get to know each other.
Murphy took the baby eaglet right away, and the girl was soon let out of “baby jail.” Luckily, Murphy’s caring nature took over, and he began to care for the eaglet as if it were his own.
The shelter said that Murphy was showing “the behavior we were looking for.” “He has responded to the baby’s peeps and begun protecting the area,” they said to make it clear.
Indeed, Dawn Griffard told the Times, “You can see the imprinting happening, which is exactly what we wanted.”
