We often think about human parents when we imagine mothers and fathers nurturing their young. The fact of the matter is, however, that even animals can show that behavior at times.

This became very clear with Murphy, a bald eagle at a bird sanctuary who was caring for a rock. It seemed as if he wanted to hatch an egg, and people began feeling sorry for him because he was caring for the rock in such a dedicated way.

Murphy lives at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri. He is a 31-year-old flightless bald eagle who has to stay at the park because he injured his wing and requires regular care.

The staff watched Murphy closely because he had built a nest in his enclosure. They soon realized he was incubating a small rock, clearly thinking it was an egg.

Murphy did everything he could to protect the rock. He would even squawk at birds who came too close, trying to scare them away. As you can imagine, this confused visitors to the sanctuary, so they put up a sign. It read:

“If you see an eagle lying down in the back left corner under a perch, that’s Murphy! Murphy is not hurt, sick, or otherwise in distress. He has built a nest on the ground and is very carefully incubating a rock! We wish him the best of luck!”

It wasn’t long before the story went viral. Some people laughed, but others said it was sad that his “egg” would never hatch. The sanctuary reminded people again and again that the bald eagle was not in any danger.

The sanctuary wrote: “Although it might make you feel sad that Murphy has built a nest and is nurturing a rock as an egg, it’s just his hormonal response to spring. Murphy is not sad, so you don’t need to be.”

They said that Murphy shares his space with four other bald eagles and that they are all “incredibly spoiled.” They also explained that giving him a chicken egg wouldn’t be safe, as it could put the chick in danger.

It seemed fate had something in mind, because an eagle’s nest in Missouri was blown over by high winds. One of the chicks died, but the other was rescued and brought to the wildlife hospital at the sanctuary.

Despite being bruised and battered, the chick was in good shape. They decided to introduce the chick to Murphy, giving him the chance to be the father he had always wanted to be.

The sanctuary wrote: “Murphy’s dad instincts were already in high gear, but at 31 years old, he had never raised a chick before. It’s definitely a gamble, but also the chick’s best chance.”

The chief executive at the sanctuary added: “It was kind of like, how can we not do this? How can we not give him a chance?”

The sanctuary built a box they referred to as a “baby jail” and placed it in the enclosure with Murphy. It allowed the two of them to be in close proximity and get accustomed to each other.

Murphy seemed to accept the baby, and the chick was eventually let out of the baby jail. His parental instincts kicked in, and he has been raising the eaglet like his own.