A red-tailed hawklet that was supposed to be an eagletsa国际传媒檚 dinner has inadvertently become its adopted sibling on a B.C. Gulf Island off Nanaimo.

Pam McCartney, communications director for Gabriola Rescue of Wildlife Society, said the hawklet was dropped in a Gabriola Island eaglesa国际传媒檚 nest June 4. GROWLS keeps a webcam trained on the nest so the society and members of the public can watch a pair of eagles raise their young each year.

McCartney said she couldnsa国际传媒檛 tell at first what the female eagle had dropped in the nest.

sa国际传媒淪he had something kind of big in her talons that looked limp and dead,sa国际传媒� McCartney said. sa国际传媒淲as it a bird or a fish? What the heck has she got there?sa国际传媒�

When the eagle dropped it in the nest the hawklet started moving.

sa国际传媒淚 thought, sa国际传媒榦h, my goodness itsa国际传媒檚 alive. Wesa国际传媒檙e going to have to see something bad,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淪o, that was hours of anxiety just watching what was going to happen.sa国际传媒�

The little hawk was much smaller than the eaglet it was intended as a meal for, but instead of becoming dinner, over time it started snuggling up to the eaglet. The mother eagle kept coming back to the nest, as if to see if its eaglet was going eat the little hawk, but it never prodded the eaglet to move the situation along.

McCartney said the hawk must have been snatched out of a nest by the eagle. It was a rainy and cold and the hawklet, apparently fearful, would hide in the corner of the nest when the mother eagle was there. When the mother eagle would leave, though, the little hawk would snuggle up toward its eaglet nest mate for warmth.

sa国际传媒淏y the time nightfall happened, mom was brooding over both of them and sheltering them both from the rain,sa国际传媒� McCartney said. sa国际传媒淚t made me very happy.sa国际传媒�

Within the next couple of days the hawklet started cheeping for food and before long the female and male eagle were both feeding the little hawk.

sa国际传媒淣ow theysa国际传媒檙e like best friends,sa国际传媒� McCartney said. sa国际传媒淭he hawksa国际传媒檚 probably going to fly out of there soon, but theysa国际传媒檙e a happy family.sa国际传媒�

She said the nest site has been there for at least 10 years and the current nest was built by the eagles about five years ago after the previous one collapsed.

She said the hawk was probably dropped in the nest alive in an attempt to teach the eaglet how to kill its own food, but the plan didnsa国际传媒檛 work out, possibly because the eaglet had a sibling that died and McCartney theorized the eaglet might have associated it with its former nest mate. That bird was pecked at by its sibling and its parents stopped feeding it. It died around mid May.

McCartney said the proper term for a baby hawk is sa国际传媒榚yas,sa国际传媒� but she prefers to use the laypersonsa国际传媒檚 term sa国际传媒榟awklet.sa国际传媒�

GROWLS members have named the little hawk Malala after Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for girlssa国际传媒� education and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was shot by a Taliban gunman in 2012. The name Malala, McCartney said, has become synonymous with sa国际传媒榮urvivor.sa国际传媒�

How the little hawk will fare when it leaves the nest remains to be seen. McCartney said red-tailed hawks in the wild are a delicacy for eagles.

sa国际传媒淪o if this hawklet is flying away as a juvenile, thinking eagles are its friends, it could be a quick demise for that poor little hawk,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l never know.sa国际传媒�

To watch the nest on the GROWLS eagle cam, visit . To learn more about GROWLS and its programs, visit .

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