This is a story about my experience meeting a golden eagle in the winter of 1996 in Virginia.
The old man opened the enclosure. The early afternoon light flooded the space and I could see a large silhouette moving at the end of the large space. The figure moved and I realized how big it was. I felt frightened at first, and without realizing it, held my breath, releasing it in relief as the figure turned towards the left into the light.
As the sunlight poured over the frame of the figure, I realized it was a very large bird. It seemed so big — large enough to be a kneeling man. I was both amazed and scared.
“There he is. You can see him now,” the man said and pointed. “He’s big, I know. One of the biggest birds I have ever seen.” Anticipating my question, the man said, “He’s about twenty years old, I reckon.” He scratched his head and said, “Honestly, we don’t know. He came to us this way and he’s been with us at least five years now.”
The eagle turned his head, looking at us with a piercing and powerful gaze. I could see his left side fully now as the sunlight bathed his figure while the right side remained cast in shadow. His feathers resembled a golden bronze armor, fading away from gold into a russet brown and the shadows behind him.
He looked like a defeated king, carrying a huge weight on his shoulders. What dignity he possessed! What a presence!
I was mesmerized by him. I stood there, trying to make as little noise as possible. The man shuffled his feet on the snow-covered leaves on the ground and said, “He cannot fly anymore. Probably got just a few years left in him. Well, I will leave you with him for now. I’ll be in the next one,” as he pointed about a hundred feet away and started walking away.
I waited. I felt a surge of both compassion and respect for this magnificent creature, a King among the birds.
The Golden Eagle turned his head a little further left and looked straight at me with both eyes unflinching. I tried to read his expression, but I could not see it fully with the deep shadows behind him.
I wanted to go closer, but felt frozen in place. He looked at me without a change of expression for a few minutes and then turned his head back to its former position. He seemed lost in thought.
I wanted to speak, but no words came out.
At last, I said, in a whisper, “You are so handsome. So dignified!” He seemed to be listening. “I am glad I came here and got to meet you.”
I wanted to comfort him in some way, but did not know how. I was also a little afraid, less than before, of his fierce gaze and his enormous sharp tallons.
I felt guilty leaving. Was he going to live and die here? I wondered. It seemed so. They had built him a large enclosure, but for this magnificent king of the skies, that must have felt like a prison. A prison he could not escape. Hence, the feeling of defeat and the look of humiliation.
I had no idea of time passing. My boots were pressed against the packed snow that filled the entrance of the enclosure. I wondered if he was cold. He did not show it.
I thought, Ozymandius.
Then I heard a voice from far away. “Are you still there, Jan?” the keeper asked, surprised. “Come and see the other animals.”
“Okay,” I said. I felt like I was shouting and disrupting the peace.
I turned and looked at the Eagle again. I bowed my head and said, “Thank you,” and turned to walk away. The Eagle turned completely around to look at me. His gaze was no longer fierce. He looked at me with interest and it felt like a softness in his noble face. His eyes seemed to take in everything.
“Goodbye,” I said and nodded. The Eagle seemed to acknowledge my leaving. You are so magnificent, thank you for spending time with me, I thought, but could not utter out aloud.
As I walked away towards the entrance, the Eagle watched me depart and once I reached the gate, he turned back to his original pose. I could see his feathers like beautiful golden scales enveloping his frame as his claws clenched the edge of the heavy wooden beam he stood on. Sunlight gleamed on the snow and icicles hanging on one end of the wooden and wire enclosure. He stood like a cloaked figure in perfect pose, unwavering and lost in his own thoughts.