Theodore

Theodore is a Bald Eagle who joined our education team in 2015. Out in the wild, a very young Theo was not hanging out with other Bald Eagles – she was seeking out attention from humans. She was brought in as a patient, and it became clear that she is imprinted on humans and thinks she is one herself. It is likely that she was taken from the wild and raised by people, but released when she was bigger – this is illegal and unsafe for both bird and human. As a human imprint, Theodore never learned to act like a Bald Eagle, and would not do well in the wild. You might be wondering why this female Bald Eagle is named Theo - when she came in, we thought she may be a young male and named her accordingly, but her full size as an adult made us realize we were incorrect in this theory, and a blood test confirmed that she is female! In the raptor world, the females are larger than the males.