Just 31 years ago this month, a fuzzy little fellow born in Waco won hearts and national headlines, as he was only the second Southern bald eagle chick hatched in captivity in the United States.

The first such bird in the Lone Star State, the offspring of eagles Ailic and Loma was named Texas by his keepers when he made his debut April 12, 1978, at the old Central Texas Zoo in Waco.

Tim Jones, zoo director at the time, had “been buzzing around the nest,” built inside of an old oil drum, “like any anxious grandparent,” the Associated Press reported at the time.

Jones contacted eagle experts from around the country, seeking advice on the the hatchling. The zoo procured an incubator from Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and distilled water, glucose and electrolytes from Providence Hospital.

Meanwhile, the eaglet was zealously guarded by papa Ailic, who had hardly left the nest since the birth.

While the eagle parents were attentive, they seemed bewildered by the feeding process. Some 48 hours after he hatched, Texas still hadn’t eaten.

He walked out of his nest April 14 in his search for food and fell about eight feet to the ground. He was saved from instant death only by the leaves and twigs on which he landed.

“I don’t understand it,” Jones said at the time. “They were perfect parents, otherwise. They guarded the eaglet, stayed with the nest, kept it warm. But when time for feeding came, the father would dangle the meat over the eaglet’s beak, then get too excited and eat the food himself.”

Texas was moved into the zoo’s nursery, sharing it with a baby camel and two bear cubs.

The zoo summoned Dr. Ken Riddle, a veterinarian with the University of Texas Cancer Center Science Park in Bastrop. A McLennan County deputy sheriff flew his plane 100 miles to pick up the raptor specialist.

Riddle brought his own supply of live quail as a fresh meat source. He would moisten the meat and chirp to get the chick’s attention.

Although the eaglet gained weight steadily at 5 to 8 grams per day and seemed to have stabilized, he died at 10:55 p.m. April 23 after coughing up an earlier meal.

The necropsy later revealed that the eaglet may have died from injuries he suffered in the fall. He also suffered from aspergillosis, an aviary pneumonia, and enterotoxemia, a blood condition characterized by toxins absorbed in the intestines.

“We’re just sick (that) he died,” a sorrowful Jones told the media.

Sources: The Texas Collection at Baylor University, files of the Tribune-Herald, Sports Illustrated archives.

Ailic and Loma’s story

After the death of Texas the eaglet, the zoo was awarded a federal grant in June 1978 of $25,000 for a bald eagle conservation project.

The bereaved parents, a 10-year-old pair named Ailic and Loma — names were from the American Income Life Insurance Company, founded by Bernard Rapoport — tried several times to have another chick.

An egg laid on Valentine’s Day 1979 was determined to be a dud. A year later, hopes were raised for an Easter hatching after eggs were laid Feb. 28 and March 1, but they were found broken and infertile in the nest weeks later.

May 20, 1982, Ailic was found in the cage with a crushed skull. Keepers believed that he was startled badly by the overnight thunderstorm and had flown straight into the ceiling in fright.

A new mate was procured for Loma that August, a young male named Ailic II.

Loma, who was about 30 percent larger than her new companion, had an apparently stormy courtship with the successor. On May 16, 1983, Ailic II was found dead in the drinking pool. The necropsy determined that his lungs had been punctured by a blow to the chest by a powerful pair of talons. Keepers said he likely had tried to set up a tryst that was met with hostility.

Rather than try again with another spouse, Loma was swapped to another zoo to spend the rest of her days in peace.

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