BLOOMINGTON - On the off-chance an egg found inside the eagle display at Miller Park Zoo this week should hatch, the event won't attract the attention that was ignited by the question of who fathered Anna Nicole Smith's baby. | Video | Updated photo gallery

But the question might leave experts puzzled. In a twist fit for the tabloids, Beauty, the zoo's female eagle, has had two possible suitors while she laid her first egg at the zoo in 13 years.

One possible mate is Mathata, the male eagle on display with her. The other is believed to be a mature male bald eagle that was discovered in a tree near the eagle display Tuesday morning at the Bloomington facility. The wild bird was there again about 8 a.m. Wednesday when zoo superintendent John Tobias and zoo marketing coordinator Susie Ohley arrived for work.

The visitor has access to the eagle pen, which has no roof because neither Beauty nor Mathata can fly. They were both permanently disabled in separate accidents that landed them in captivity.

Unlike most bald eagles, the visitor appears very tolerant of humans, according to Given Harper, a raptor expert who heads the biology department at Illinois Wesleyan University. Contrary to published suggestions to stay back, people walked close to take pictures while the eagle perched in a tree.

Harper was even more surprised the bird appeared at the zoo on two consecutive days. Eagles can be seen at times in spring flying over the Twin Cities as they migrate to their summer homes in northern states and Canada. Others nest in Central Illinois, including at least one pair that set up house at Clinton Lake in DeWitt County.

At least 60 mating pairs were counted in Illinois during a census about three years ago, Harper said. But wild eagles that visit towns are rare, he said.

This one may have had good reason to stop. Harper said most eagles in this region have mated by now and are tending eggs or their newly hatched young. Lacking a mate, the wild bird may have spotted or heard Beauty as it passed by.

"That's pretty amazing." he said.

Harper and Tobias said they would find it even more unbelievable if the egg Beauty laid was fertile. Although eagles display beautiful courtship rituals in flight, they actually mate on their perches. But, Mathata's injuries may have left him unable to balance in a way needed to mate successfully, Tobias said.

"We doubt there is any breeding going on," he said.

And, although the wild bird tolerates humans, Harper said it would be extremely unlikely for the visitor to feel safe enough to drop down into the pen.

It's also possible the visitor is a female.

The behavior of the bird indicates it probably is a male, Harper said. Beauty was building a nest, and it is unlikely a female would have stopped to visit if it saw such behavior, Harper said.

However, gender can't be determined for certain without closer examination.

A hatching eagle egg at Miller Park Zoo in the next three weeks or so would make the news. But, the event would create a problem for Tobias: The zoo's federal permit allows the facility to exhibit eagles, not to breed them.

"Somehow, I have to explain to our birds, 'No more of that guys,'" he said.