A few lovely readers directed our attention to this wonderful news: there’s a newborn harpy eagle chick at the Miami Zoo! How cool is that? There are some absolutely adorable pictures at the link, along with this bit of awesomeness: “The chick’s gender is unknown as zoo staff cannot get too close. When keepers approach the chick “the mother gets very defensive, opens her wings and covers the chick right away. Then she starts squealing … wheeee wheeee wheee. And when a bird has talons the size of a grizzly bear’s paw, you pay attention,” explained the zoo spokesman.
In other words, harpies are not to be messed with.
Even more heartwarming is this terrific video of Philip Spooner, an 86-year-old World War II veteran from Maine who testified on behalf of marriage equality in April. Spooner says that when he was asked if he believes in equal rights for gays and lesbians, he answered, “What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach?”
Congrats, MamaEagle! You are both gorgeous and fierce.
Leave it up to a New Englander to remind the nation of that which it takes for granted.
First: adorable little harpy. Adorable and scary at the same time
Second: maybe it was just my inner cynic but when I saw the headline on Yahoo about this 86 year old vet testifying about gay marriage I just assumed he was saying what he and his boys fought at Omaha Beach for was to protect the sanctity of marriage or some other such crap so I didn’t even click on the article. I’m glad to see I was totally wrong. It does make my Monday much brighter.
llevinso: I totally know what you mean about the inner cynic. I think one of the reasons I love this video so much is because Spooner is of a generation that came of age well before any formal gay rights movement in this country, and grew up in a culture where there was no concept of equality for gays and lesbians. And yet here he is, campaigning for LGBT rights.
“Then she starts squealing … wheeee wheeee wheee.
Funny, that’s what I said when our youngest left the nest…Just kidding! *runs for cover*
As for Mr Spooner, he is clear on the concept, unlike, say, local US congressman Daryl Metcalfe, who accused members of a vets’ group fighting against global warming of “treason”. To Republicans, treason=disagreeing with whatever any Republican-or donor to a Republican-says. The rest of us know differently. Thank you, Mr Spooner, for your service and your integrity.
The Wiki entry on Harpy eagles is pretty cool.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy_Eagle
They are some seriously badass birds. And this made me chuckle:
“Female Harpy Eagles typically weigh 6.5 kg to 9 kg. One exceptional captive female, “Jezebel”, weighed 12.3 kg, possibly because of relative lack of exercise and readily available food at a zoo. The male, in comparison, weighs only about 3.8 kg to 5.4 kg.”
Jezebel the Harpy Eagle? I love it. I hope her sisters were named Lilith, Salome, Medea, and Clytemnestra.
I love the fact that they’re WAY bigger than the males. And apparently they can lift 3/4 of their body weight. I wouldn’t need to hire professional movers if I could do that!