An injured bald eagle (秃鹰) that can’t fly is living out the rest of his days at a bird national park in Missouri.

Last month, one of his caretakers noticed something strange. Keeper Kerstin saw Murphy the eagle protecting a large low-lying land in the ground. The spot was carefully decorated with leaves and branches, and featured a smooth, round stone right in the center.

Later that day, Keeper Kerstin saw Murphy sitting on the stone as if it were an egg, and he continued to do so day after day. Male bald eagles take an equal part in raising young, so this is very natural behavior for a male.

“Every so often he rearranges the sticks in his nest, and cackles (咯咯叫) at any other eagle that come too close. We wish Murphy all the luck in the world, but we’re not telling him the reality of the situation,” the nonprofit wrote on Facebook. “We have vet to see a stone hatch (破壳)!”

Many viewers have guessed that Murphy is lonely and needs a mate, but the keepers insist he is choosing to do this on his own.

“Murphy is not lonely! He is housed with 4 other bald eagles — 2 males and 2 females,” a keeper said.

“He is not welcoming help with his nest, nor is he seeking it! He has not chosen a mate, so he very clearly wants to do this on his own. He does not want anything (real eggs) but his stone. Eventually he will get bored and give it up, but we love watching him care for it now. No need to feel bad for him! He is perfectly satisfied!”

Last week, an eagle nest containing two chicks (雏鸟) near Ste. Genevieve, Missouri was blown down by very high winds. One chick died in the fall, but the other was found and saved by a faithful nest watcher, who brought the chick to the center’s wildlife hospital.

We moved to a small seaside community in New Zealand 10 years ago, because my husband Phil worked as a biologist and he had to do research near the sea. I had seen seals (海豚) around Pilot Bay, which is near here. Sometimes you see them out on the rocks, sunning themselves or playing-but usually in their own territory. They never thought about disturbing their neighbors.

I thought, Oh, my God, “but didn’t panic—the ocean is just down the driveway and I thought it would find its way back. Off I went to the training center and gave everyone there a laugh when I said, “Sorry I’m late; there was a seal under the car.” I didn’t think about it again until I got home. As I walked through the garage (车库), I noticed our baskets had been moved. I wondered if it was the seal, but then I guessed it could not be the seal because I didn’t think it could fit through the cat door, which was the only way into the garage. But I was wrong. As I opened the door to the house, I brushed something and heard this flip-flip-flip-flip sound, and thought, “My God, that is the seal.”

It was so cute like a lovely soft toy.

We called Animal Protection Station, and a worker came over.

Kangaroos can “talk” to us

Kangaroos can “talk” to people, according to a new study. The report is the first research of its kind to be done on marsupials—a type of creature whose young get carried in skin pockets on their mother’s body. It suggests kangaroos are cleverer than previously thought.

Researchers from the University of Roehampton in the UK and the University of Sydney in Australia tested kangaroos at the Australian Reptile (爬行动物) Park, Wildlife Sydney Zoo and Kangaroo Protection Co-operative. The scientists put food in a box that the kangaroos could not open, and waited to see what the animals would do. Rather than giving up, 10 out of the 11 kangaroos actively looked at the person who had put the food in the box and then looked at the box. The researchers said this could be interpreted as the kangaroos requesting help to open the container.

Dr Alexandra Green, a co-author of the study, told The Guardian newspaper that some of the kangaroos actually approached the person and started scratching (挠) and sniffing (嗅) him, then looked back at the box. “So they were really trying to communicate,” Green said. This behaviour is not uncommon in animals. However, it is usually only seen in domesticated animals, such as pets or farm animals. The lead author of the study, Dr Alan McElligott, explained, “Through this study, we were able to see that communication between creatures can be learnt and that the behaviour of looking at humans to access food is not related to domestication. “Indeed, kangaroos showed a very similar pattern of behaviour we have seen in dogs, horses and even goats, when put to the same test,” he added.

It is hoped that the study will give people a more positive attitude towards kangaroos, which are sometimes seen as harmful creatures that damage farmers’ crops.