WAYNESBORO --
Ed Clark denies any notion he's been taken hostage.
Instead, the president of the Wildlife Center of Virginia said he's accepted that 150,000 people watch his every interaction with three eaglets recently rescued and moved to Waynesboro.
Through a continuous online video feed, a global group has taken interest in the well-being of the fuzz-ball birds and raised thousands of dollars for their care.
For months, the Norfolk Botanical Garden used a camera to broadcast the hatching of the eaglets. The birds, including mother and father, became Web celebrities. At any given hour, at least 2,000 people watched the eagles and typed live comments into a chat room.
So when the wheels of a U.S. Airways jet struck and killed the mother, the online fans "erupted," Clark said.
The outpouring of grief and support led to a memorial service for the female bird in Norfolk. More than 100 people attended, including a Native American drum group.
With the fan base mobilized, attention turned to the eaglets, which naturalists determined should be moved.
"We have come to understand that they are a true force of nature, or for nature, whichever way you want to look at it," Clark said from his office this week.
The eaglets moved to the center in Waynesboro. With them came the masses, demanding a camera and constant access.
The move also sparked a fundraiser through the Chase Community of Giving project. Within a week, the eagle fund got enough votes to reach the national top-10 list for the project, earning $25,000.
On May 19, another round of voting begins with a top award of $500,000.
Anna Davis, 60, of Staunton, said she started following the birds online in March.
"Usually when I come in (to work) I'll bring up the eagle cam and make it a smaller window on the screen," Davis said. "It is very addictive."
Debbi Skluzak of Norfolk helps moderate the Wildlife Center of Virginia's online chat room. She said many people consider the online birds to be pets.
"I might have 10 cameras that are small that are all over the place on the (computer) screen," she said. "I think a lot of people would rather watch this live cam, and watch these eagles as they grow up, than watch television."
Skluzak said she's in the process of printing more than 6,000 calendars to memorialize the eaglets' killed mother.
Clark said the arrival of the eaglets to the Wildlife Center caused so much attention the organization's website crashed. Employee email accounts overloaded.
"It's a truly sincere commitment to these birds," Clark said. "It may be over the top, but it's an investment."
Clark said the online chat room and increased attention connects more people to nature in a month than the facility's traditional education programs do in a year.
"We feel an enormous amount of responsibility to keep these people," Clark said, "who are so genuinely … connected to these birds."
_________________ "When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." – John Muir
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