BLOOMINGTON - The wild bald eagle that visited Miller Park in Bloomington last week may have flown the coop. | Photo gallery

But experts think the visitor may have sparked a relationship that could lead to the hatching of one or both of the eggs the zoo's female eagle, Beauty, laid during his stay. This is the first time Beauty has laid eggs in her 13 years at the zoo.

The wild eagle was last seen at the zoo on Friday. Presumed to be a male because of its behavior, he did not return to the zoo on Saturday or Sunday, disappointing many visitors who came to see it.

But, in a sign considered very positive, Mathata, the disabled male eagle sharing the eagle exhibit with Beauty, has been seen incubating the eggs, zoo Superintendent John Tobias said Monday.

"That would indicate to me they have formed a strong pair bond. It's almost a love story…," Tobias said.

The fact the male is involved in taking care of the eggs mimics wild eagles that share incubating duties, agreed Angelo Capparella, an ornithologist at Illinois State University. However, he stressed, the behavior doesn't mean either or both of the eggs are fertile.

"But it increases the likelihood," he said.

Tobias said he will give the eggs time to develop before he "candles" the eggs, which involves shining a light through the shells.

"I may do it on Mother's Day," he said.

Alan Jenkins is involved in eagle research as assistant director of the Sutton Avian Research Center in Oklahoma, where wild eggs and eggs laid by captive eagles have been hatched in the past. He said he's never heard of a case where the presence of a wild eagle apparently stimulated a captive female to lay eggs after such a long period with none.

"It is extremely unusual. I've never heard of a similar case," Jenkins said.

Wild mated birds, including eagles, will sometimes have a third "helper" bird that participates in raising the young. But in those cases, the helper is an older offspring of the mated pair, Jenkins and Capparella said.

Whether Beauty's eggs are fertile "remains to be seen," Jenkins added. But Mathata's fatherly interest led him to set odds at about "50/50."