The Navajo Nation Zoo has recently agreed to relocate one of its 18 golden eagles housed at the 4,000-square-foot Eagle Aviary and Education Center in Window Rock to the Valley of the Sun.
The 25-year-old female golden eagle named Dragon will soon depart for the Phoenix Zoo and become a non-breeding companion for a male golden eagle, whose longtime mate died in 2022.
“Since these are pair-bonded birds, I’ve been looking for another,” said Bryan MacAulay, collection manager of birds at Phoenix Zoo. “It’s been a high priority item, and I’m thrilled to death that we’re able to get that taken care of.”
Upon her arrival, she’ll undergo a 30-day quarantine, followed by a “howdy.”
“For usually a day or two,” MacAulay explained, “which is basically where we introduce the new bird in a controlled environment, where they can see, smell, hear each other, but there’ll be a wire barrier, so they can’t harm each other.”
MacAulay is optimistic such partnerships between both zoos could happen more often.
“That’s something that we are more than happy to do,” he added. “If they need a companion, and we have an animal that would fit that need, I could very much see doing that kind of work with them.”
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