By JESSE GRAHAM
ONE OF Healesville Sanctuary’s most iconic residents celebrated his birthday today, with Jess the wedge-tailed eagle going strong at 44 years old.
Jess, the oldest resident at the sanctuary, turned 44 on Wednesday 16 September, and was joined by keeper Jason Bell for a media appearance to mark the day.
The eagle was rescued in 1971 by sanctuary worker Graham Carkeek in the Warburton Ranges, after his nest had fallen out of a tree.
Mr Carkeek built a nest for Jess in his garage in Lilydale and hand-raised him, later flying him around the area when he was ready.
When Victorian laws changed in 1974 and permits were required to care for native wildlife, Mr Carkeek handed Jess in to the sanctuary, where he has lived ever since.
Jess has gone on to become one of the most iconic residents at the Sanctuary, featuring on Australia Post’s 60 cent postage stamp, in the recent film, Healing, and is even the eagle featured on Wolf Blass wine bottle labels.
Mr Bell said that wedge-tailed eagles live to about 40-years-old in the wild.
“Jess is on a pretty good wicket here,” he said.
“We’ve obviously got the best attention for him – he gets looked after really well, he’s got great vets up at the AWHC (Australian Wildlife Health Centre) looking after him, so we’re hoping that we can get him out past 50 years.”
Jess takes part in the Spirits of the Sky presentation at the sanctuary, where he flies around the crowd while keepers talk to crowds about animals, their capabilities and how to protect their habitat – he has performed more than 350,000 fly-bys in his time.
While Jess was meant to have a business-as-usual birthday, he decided to fly away from the presentation on Wednesday, returning after the crowds had dispersed.
Mr Bell, meanwhile, did not miss a beat in keeping the presentation running, explaining that wild wedge-tailed eagles can often be seen near the sanctuary – and that they can see kilometres into the distance.
“He’s been at the sanctuary, here, for 40 years and he’s been in all sorts of different places in that time,” Mr Bell said before the show.
“He knows the sanctuary really well, and there is the odd occasion where he decides he wants to go have a look, but it’s pretty rare.”
While Mr Bell talked to visitors after the show, Jess stayed perched on his glove, receiving pats and scratches while watching people (and this reporter) taking photos.
