Male bald eagles split hatchling and egg care 50/50 with their mates. But Murphy the bald eagle was seriously injured several years ago and is no longer able to fly. He was nursed back to health at the World Bird Sanctuary where he will have to spend the rest of his life.
But his instincts to want to be a dad haven't diminished. He has no one to mate with so he has started caring for a rock that's about the size of an eagle egg. When caretakers approached he got very aggressive defending his egg. A few weeks ago a storm, blew a nest with two new born hatchlings was blown off its perch and only one survived. The parents were missing so the little fella was taken to WBS and given to Murphy to care for. It could have gone one of two ways: Murphy could’ve rejected him and killed him or accepted him. Much to the relief of everyone, the two bonded.
Murphy preened the hatchling and the pair are now inseparable. As for the rock… it’s just a rock now.