Rival Eagles Team Up To Raise Babies Together

The little babies have two dads and a mom — and they're all very proud parents 👏👏👏

By Sarah V Schweig

One of nature's most famous families is growing — and a live nest cam is catching some of the most heartwarming moments on film.

A trio of adult bald eagles — two males, Valor 1 and Valor 2, and a female, Starr — have become parents again.



The three eggs that Starr laid in February have now all hatched, and the three parents are taking turns feeding and looking after the little eaglets.

Thanks to the Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge, a nonprofit organization that, among other things, provides a live stream of the nest, we can watch the family's progress.

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The nontraditional trio has been together since 2017 — but the Valors have been together for longer. Valor 1 and Valor 2 began as rivals back in 2013, but then decided to share the nest.

The Valors have been dads together before, with another female named Hope, before she fled the nest in 2017.

The unique family structure seems to be working for these eagles — and the eaglets have the advantage of being fed by three different beaks. Sometimes both Valors team up for a feeding, while Starr is away. Other times, Starr and a Valor work together to feed the enthusiastic eaglets.



The eaglets will be with their parents for 10 to 12 weeks, at which time they'll start to fledge, trying to fly out on their own.

There's pretty much never a dull moment now that the babies have hatched. "They really fill up the nest," the Stewards rightly wrote.

https://www.thedodo.com/bald-eagle-trio-parents-welcome-newly-hatched-eaglets