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Animals & Wildlife

Science

An old male bald eagle who adopted a rock as an egg has just been given a real foster baby

People are totally invested in Murphy becoming a real dad after he spent weeks nurturing his "RockBaby."

Murphy meets a rescued eaglet—his new foster baby.

On March 8, 2023, a keeper at World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis County, Missouri, noticed something odd. A male bald eagle named Murphy was guarding what appeared to be a large depression in the ground.

“The spot was sparsely but carefully decorated with leaves and branches, and featured a simple rock right in the center,” the nature preserve shared on its Facebook page.

Murphy began sitting on the rock, nudging it and becoming fiercely protective of it, as it if were an egg. People visiting the sanctuary would inquire about the bald eagle just sitting there, wondering if he was okay. The keepers finally put up a sign that read:

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Science

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life with a prosthetic beak

The parrot could not survive in the wild without its beak, which is used to build nests, fend off predators and eat.

Brazilian veterinarian gives parrot a second chance at life.

A parrot in Brazil got a lucky break when it was rescued after someone found it with a severely damaged beak. In fact, most of its little beak was completely gone. Birds use their hard beaks to eat, fend off other animals and build nests, and their mouths are essentially their hands while their feet are busy walking, scratching or holding twigs.

Plus, I don't know if you've paid much close attention to birds, but they don't seem to have a lot of dexterity with their tiny little bird legs. They sort of walk around like peg-legged pirates even though I'm pretty sure birds have knees. (I'm not a bird scientist or a zoologist if that wasn't clear.)

Luckily for this parrot, Renascer ACN, an animal rescue and rehabilitation facility in Planura, Brazil, had a doctor on staff who not only knows if birds have knees but also knew how to make a prosthetic beak.

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via Bob's Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera

Robert Bush Sr. is an avid outdoorsman who runs a Facebook page called "Bob's Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera."

He set up a secret camera on a log that lays across a steam to capture footage of all the different animals that walked across it. The result is a relaxing video featuring all sorts of wildlife including a black bear, chipmunk, coyote, turkey, and great horned owl.

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Science

Human befriends hummingbird, names him Hector and brings wholesome joy to millions

"Hector the nectar collector" flies right up to the open window and drinks from Julian's hand.

Hector the hummingbird visits his human friend Julian in Oakland.

Hummingbirds are fascinating to watch, so people often put hummingbird feeders in their yards during the summer. But one special hummingbird and his human friend have taken that fascination to another extremely wholesome level.

Julian, better known as @birdperson666 on TikTok and Instagram, has gained over 2 million followers with videos of a neighborhood hummingbird named Hector's visits. Julian told ABC7 that it only took about five days for "Hector the nectar collector" to start eating from his hand and that Hector sometimes visits several times a day. The combination of Julian's deep, resonant voice and Hector's adorable, iridescent self makes for surprisingly addictive content.

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