Haines’ American Bald Eagle Foundation joined zoos throughout the country offering an unorthodox Valentine’s Day tradition of naming a critter after an ex and watching it be devoured.
Some, like the San Antonio Zoo, offer to feed roaches to animal residents. Others, like the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Pennsylvania, have offered naming fish to be fed to its resident penguins. In Haines, it’s frozen rats and your choice of eagle, owl or hawk to devour it.
“We’re trying to find a way to raise funds,” said avian curator and executive director Kathy Benner. “Most people don’t understand that we’re not open over the wintertime, so we have no income over the winter.”
The way it works is that people had until Feb. 13 to visit baldeagle.org/events/ and fill out a form naming the rat. They paid $10 for a photo, or $15 for a video and waited for it to land in their inboxes on Valentine’s Day.
Options included Ahsoka, a Western Siberian Eagle Owl, Dylan, a screech owl, Warrior, a red-tailed hawk, or Vega, a bald eagle .
The center has gotten some pushback on social media from people who think the fundraiser vilifies rats, but Benner points out that the birds eat frozen rats that are bred specifically for that purpose, every day.
“I like rats. They are wonderful, but they are also food,” she said. “I have chickens, but darn, I love chicken.”
Benner said staff at the center are preparing to open for the season on May 1, and will likely use the money to buy more food for the birds.
“Keeping these birds well fed is not cheap,” she said.