Over a week the adventure lasted, but she is back. The escaped Steller’s bald eagle from Zoo Veldhoven is back under lock and key.
The animal was flying through the park all that time. Now we also know why she didn’t continue on her expedition. “She stayed around for love”, park owner Richard Loomans knows. “She was crazy about one male”, the owner says. And so she always stayed near his cage. She wanted to mate and was even already making a nest. “I already thought it was weird that she didn’t fly away. If she had wanted to, she would have been in Germany within a morning”.
Hunger
The eagles easily can go a long time without food. Only after a week she got hungry. Richard was able to lure her with prey and then catch her with his hands. “She stayed put for a few minutes. That’s enough for an old man like me to catch her with a swan dive”, he laughed.
The animal took off on Thursday, 16 March. The raptor got out of its enclosure through a hole in the nylon mesh. The most exciting moment was when someone spotted her in a meadow a kilometre away. We’ll never see her again, Loomans thought at the time.
Thinking
The park owner kept a hawk-eyed eye on the beast for a week. On Saturday, he finally managed to catch the bird of prey. “It was a week of little sleep and a lot of thinking”, he sighs. “But I’m heartily glad she’s back”.
The Steller’s bald eagle is originally from Russia and has been in Zoo Veldhoven for six years. The bird’s enclosure has since been repaired. In all likelihood, the hole was caused by wear and tear. To be sure, the Steller’s bald eagle is placed in another room. “Once bitten, twice shy”, Loomans laughs.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
