The eagle that once carried stones instead of eggs... has become a 'real dad'

Despite not mating and being unable to become a father, an American bald eagle that attracted attention by cherishing a stone instead of an egg has become a 'real dad.' This happened because a baby bald eagle that had lost its mother was rescued just in time.

According to the New York Times (NYT) and others on the 23rd (local time), a male bald eagle named 'Murphy' living at the World Bird Sanctuary in Oklahoma, in the south-central United States, has been a hot topic online since last month. Murphy, who turned 31 this year, was brought to the sanctuary with severe leg and wing injuries when he was less than a year old.

The rescued chick and Murphy are bonding.
[Photo by World Bird Protection Center Facebook]

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Murphy, who has lived here for 30 years, suddenly became a sensation because of his unique behavior. Since the 8th of last month, Murphy started building a nest on the ground and placed stones inside, beginning to incubate them as if they were eggs. Although he was unable to mate and become a father, he showed a paternal affection full of care by cherishing the stones, gaining popularity among netizens.

Murphy, who wanted to become a dad but had not met a female at the sanctuary, recently became a 'real dad.' On the 2nd, a baby bald eagle that lost its mother in a storm was rescued and brought to the sanctuary. The staff successfully introduced Murphy and the rescued eaglet safely. Currently, Murphy is fully dedicated to parenting activities as the father of the baby bald eagle.

However, there were difficulties in introducing Murphy to the rescued eaglet. Murphy recognized the stone he had been incubating as a real egg and showed extremely aggressive behavior whenever staff approached even slightly. Therefore, the staff made efforts such as moving the stone together without separating it. They also installed cameras inside the enclosure to monitor continuously, fearing Murphy might reject the eaglet.

A webtoon about Murphy and her baby being introduced to live together.
[Image source=Twitter Artsy Bird Squad]

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As this story became known, Murphy became a 'star' within the sanctuary. Posts about Murphy's recent status shared by the sanctuary on social networking services (SNS) like Facebook have received supportive comments such as "The stone miraculously hatched," "Murphy with special paternal love," and "Hope he lives a long and healthy life." Merchandise like T-shirts featuring Murphy and the eaglet's images are being sold, and professional photographers have visited to shoot photo spreads.

One netizen even created a webtoon based on Murphy's story.

The sanctuary said, "Murphy had never raised a chick before, so we hesitated at first, but seeing his paternal love for the stone, we thought Murphy was the best choice." They added, "If there is belief, a stone can become a real egg. It was definitely a gamble to pair Murphy, who had never raised offspring, with the rescued eaglet, but it seems to have produced a good result in the end."

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