Samson soars

clover green · #1 (**permalink**) 04-09-2007, 08:50 PM

Did anyone hear about samson the golden eagle? I read about it last week (yeah, I have busy of late) Well, this wonderful bird was stolen from a zoo (in GB) and was then kept in a very small dark cupboard. The terrified bird broke all his wings and tail feathers in his desperation to escape. Eventually the police found and rescued him and handed him over to Jonathan Marshall, of Barnstaple, Devon. He is a renowned falconer and very slowly he tried to rehabilitate the bird, who was very aggressive, due to his previous ill treatment. After many months the flight feathers grew back and Jonathan started to work him on the glove. Then, he started going up in a hang-glider so that he could fly with samson (these birds hunt together in pairs). Then Jonathan, moved on to a micro-light and he was able too watch samson soar for the first time, though at a max 30 mph meant he couldn't keep up with the bird for long. It took a long time before he gained the trust of samson, but the hard work paid off and they now do regular falconery displays.
He looks a magnificent and stands at about 3 feet tall, so majestic! A wonderful story.
Apparently, golden eagles live to up to 50 years, so the two of them will be growing old togther!

naturelover · #2 (**permalink**) 04-09-2007, 09:03 PM

what a fantastic end to a very sad story,i hope the evil person that stole him got his just desserts.

clover green · #3 (**permalink**) 04-09-2007, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturelover

what a fantastic end to a very sad story,i hope the evil person that stole him got his just desserts.

Yeah, I hope so too, but the article didn't say what happened to the perpetrator.

John · #4 (**permalink**) 04-09-2007, 09:42 PM

That really is one heck of a story. I would have loved to have seen the Eagles progress.

Let's hope the perpetrator is metered out the right punishment.

John