|
Parrots Not The Only Birds That Form Strong Bonds With Humans |
|
Reviewed: Conversations with an Eagle By Brenda Cox Greystone Books, Vancouver, B.C. © 2002, ISBN 1-55054-811-5, Cloth, $22.95 Cdn..
"Nothing in the world prepares you for …. leaping to your arm. Her head cocks sideway, her eyes sharpen, then she half-leaps, half-flies to my outstretched arm.” - from Conversations with an Eagle The portion of the above quote between “for” and “leaping” could easily be filled with the phrase “a parrot.” In this case however, the words I left out are “an eagle.” That may help answer your question, “Why review a book about an eagle in a parrot publication?” Very simply, the book tells the remarkable tale of a woman’s relationship with an eagle, and there are some very similar parallels between that relationship and the relationship many of us have with our companion birds. Mind you, most of our birds do not have the power to kill or at least seriously maim us, the way a bald eagle does. Brenda Cox developed an eight-year relationship with Ichabod, a female bald eagle at a wildlife rehabilitation centre located in the Vancouver area. Brought to the centre at 10 weeks old, the eagle is eventually determined to be too damaged to be returned to the wild. Normally, an eagle is not considered a good outreach tool, because of their size, power and difficulty in handling them, particularly around large groups of people. But rather than see the bird put down, Cox tries to train it, working with the bird to see if it may be used in educational outreach programs. I'll let the reader be the judge of whether her results can be deemed successful. One thing I found to be very annoying and bothersome was the fact that the death of the eagle is never explained. It is written that it "died suddenly," but never explained what is the cause of its death. Maybe the cause was never determined, but that is never stated. Surely after investing all our emotions into a story like this, we, as readers are deserving of a more definitive explanation ...? I felt robbed ... I felt I was built up to a climax, then suddenly had the emotional rug pulled out from underneath me. Despite that weak ending, there is a good chance anyone who has shared their life with an avian companion will find this book an intriguing read. - Reviewed by John Geary |
|
General Information About African Greys Fiction
Non-Fiction
|
