Goldie was a male

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

who lived at

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

in England during the 1960s. He caused a nationwide sensation when he escaped for 12 days in February 1965. Goldie flew away from his keepers on 28 February 1965 while his cage was being cleaned. He avoided being recaptured for nearly two weeks, despite a massive effort using equipment borrowed from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and

Civil Defence Corps The Civil Defence Corps (CDC) was a civilian volunteer organisation established in Great Britain in 1949 to mobilise and take local control of the affected area in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Col ...

. Goldie spent most of the time in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, which surrounds the zoo, but he also made excursions into the nearby neighbourhoods of

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tub ...

and Euston. Goldie's escape enthralled the British public. The zoo received thousands of phone calls and letters, and large crowds gathered in Regent's Park to watch the bird's keepers trying to catch him. There were severe

traffic jam Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...

s in the area as drivers circled the park, watching Goldie in flight. The saga was closely covered by the media. On a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

television programme, the reporter John Timpson unsuccessfully tried to lure Goldie by playing an

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n bird pipe. Goldie was also mentioned during a debate in the House of Commons, where

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

greeted his name with cheers. While free, the

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

y bird killed and ate a duck in the garden of

Winfield House Winfield House is an English townhouse in Regent's Park, central London and the official residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The grounds are , the second-largest private garden in London after that of Buckingham P ...

official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...

of the

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the country's diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. ...

to the United Kingdom, within Regent's Park. Goldie also attacked two

terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

s in the park, but was driven off by their owner. Goldie was finally caught on 11 March after the zoo's deputy head keeper tempted him to earth with a dead rabbit. He was in good health after his experience and was reunited with his mate, Regina. The zoo's attendance nearly doubled in the days after his return. Goldie escaped once again on 15 December 1965, and was recaptured on 20 December 1965 at 4:20 am. On 8 March 1985, Goldie was sent to the Falconry Centre in

Newent Newent (; originally called "Noent") is a market town and civil parish about 10½ miles (17 km) north-west of Gloucester, England. Its population was 5,073 at the 2001 census, rising to 5,207 in 2011, The population was 6,777 at the 2021 Census. ...

, and died there on or about 23 March 1986.

External links

BBC News: On this day -- 7 March 1965: Goldie the eagle evades capture again
Includes photo of John Timpson playing bird pipe.

1965 in England 1986 animal deaths Individual eagles Missing or escaped animals Individual animals in England London Zoo 1960s in London {{England-stub

See also

External links