This is a sad piece of news....Murphy the bald eagle who fostered a rock....died in a tornado.

[a kennedy]

A bald eagle who stole the hearts of animal lovers across the U.S. after fostering a rock was killed during a tornado last weekend, according to the Missouri sanctuary that took care of him.

Murphy, a 33-year-old male bald eagle, was found dead in his aviary Saturday morning after storms and tornadoes swept through the St. Louis area the night before, according to the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park.

Animal experts performed a necropsy and confirmed he suffered from head trauma.

“We are unable to determine if Murphy was spooked by something and hit his head while jumping off a perch or if wind and precipitation played a part in the injury,” the sanctuary said. “While Murphy experienced countless storms throughout the years with us without issue, this storm may have contributed to his passing.”

Murphy had a permanent wing injury and cannot fly, so he was expected to live out the rest of his life at the sanctuary in Montana, the organization said previously. He was housed with other animals who weren’t injured during the storm, the sanctuary said.

All birds in outdoor aviaries can head inside shelters if they need to protect themselves due to severe weather, the World Bird Sanctuary said.

The sanctuary said it has plans in place for environmental emergencies but this storm did not require bird evacuations because no tornadoes approached the sanctuary itself.

“While we do everything that we can to keep our birds safe, accidents outside of our control can happen,” staff wrote Tuesday.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/03/21/murphy-bald-eagle-rock-dies/82588702007/?tbref=hp