ANMAL DOCUMENTARY:Misdirected Parenting by rheostar247.com

Misdirected Parenting

by rheostar247.com

The institute decided to set up cam to broadcast live footage, and the animals have become an Internet sensation. “It’s been quite frankly amazing,” Thomas says.

But then it got more weird. The larger female, the second to show up, did a poor job of tending her eggs, which failed to hatch, Catalano says. When the smaller bird’s eggs yielded two owlets, she began caring for them as well, sheltering them from elements and venturing out to fetch mice.

This could be a type of misdirected parenting, in which the larger owl saw the owlets nearby and thought they were her own, he adds.

It’s also possible that the smaller female is actually the larger one’s daughter, or perhaps they’re sisters.

Our Favorite Pictures of Bald Eagles

Several days of drenching rain made this bald eagle in Alaska's Aleutian Islands more bedraggled than majestic.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

In 1939, Jule Mannix and her husband Dan bought Aguila, a bald eagle that had been grounded by an ice storm.
Photograph by Daniel P. Mannix, National Geographic

When this photo ran in a 1992 issue of National Geographic, bald eagles were still an endangered species. Conservation programs like this one helped the population recover.
Photorgraph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic Creative

A bald eagle in the Aleutian Islands vocalizes.
Photograph by Tom Murphy, National Geographic Creative

A group of bald eagles isn't a flock—it's a "convocation." Above, eagles convene in the treetops of British Columbia, Canada.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

A bald eagle targets its prey in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

A bald eagle flies off with its catch in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

Bald eagles assemble on a snow-covered breakwater in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

These Alaskan birds appeared in a July 2002 National Geographicarticle about the resurgence of bald eagles.
Photograph by Norbert Rosing, National Geographic Creative

An eagle calls out from its nest in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

A young bald eagle in the Aleutian Islands makes a descent.
Photograph by Klaus Nigge, National Geographic Creative

Klaus Nigge writes that photographers "tend to portray [bald eagles] as these majestic animals, always soaring in a blue sky with their plumage perfectly in place." Two impeccable examples of his thought fly over Haines, Alaska.
Photograph by Paul Nicklen, National Geographic Creative

A bald eagle perches on a branch in Alaska.
Photograph by Michael S. Quinton, National Geographic Creative

Bald eagles flock around the shoreline of Homer, Alaska.
Photograph by Roy Toft, National Geographic Creative

A bald eagle stares at something far below its perch in Homer, Alaska.
Photograph by Norbert Rosing, National Geographic Creative

That would help explain why the birds are more comfortable around each other than most great horned owls. But “without determining their genetics, everything is just a guess,” he says.

Though the females sometimes tussle—“they get into some pretty good battles, pecking at each other"—generally they get along. “To be honest, they’ve co-parented quite well."

Empty Nesters

As for the owlets, the show is almost over; one left the nest last week, jumping off the ledge of the building before safely landing below. Staff members report the owlet is being fed by its parents and doing fine.

This is normal owlet behavior; after about six to eight weeks, the youngsters leave the nest and take up residence close by, such as in the low branches of a tree or bush, which serve as a launch platform for future flights, Catalano says.

The other owlet remains, but soon, it too will leave the nest. “It could be any day now,” Catalano says. And with that, the threesome will split up.

As for Thomas, who retired in early March, the experience was a special one. “It was a good going-away present," he says.
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