Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1022720
ZOO NEWS MEMBER MAGAZINE 17 OVERHEARD I don't think I've ever seen an ugly butterfly. Zoo Member Dean Zoo Member Harley "Member Harley, aged two, enjoying the Madagascar Member Party at Werribee Open Range Zoo." VALE Healesville Sanctuary were devastated to say goodbye to their oldest animal in July when Jess the Wedge-tailed Eagle passed away shortly after finishing his final Spirits of the Sky flight. Jess the Wedge-tailed Eagle first arrived to the Sanctuary as a two-year-old in 1972, rescued by Graham Carkeek in the Warburton Ranges, after his nest fell out of a tree and he was too young to fend for himself. Graham, who had worked at Healesville Sanctuary in the early 1940s, built a nest in the garage of his Lilydale home to provide care for Jess. Then, in 1974, when Victorian laws changed requiring rehabilitators to have a permit to care for native wildlife, Graham brought Jess to Healesville Sanctuary. Jess had a number of keepers throughout his 40 years at the Sanctuary, but every bond with his Keepers was special. Keepers estimate he flew more than 160,000 times in the Spirits of the Sky presentation. Jess was well-photographed and filmed over the years, featuring on Australia Post's 60 cent stamp, appearing in television commercials, on wine bottle labels and in international documentaries. He also made a cameo appearance in the feature film 'Healing' and travelled to television studios. Jess will be terribly missed. Vale Jess.