Steller's sea eagle Kody 'content to be back' at National Aviary after 9 days on the loose, officials say

National Aviary officials became emotional Monday as they detailed their exhaustive nine-day effort to recapture a large Steller’s sea eagle that escaped from the specialty bird zoo on Pittsburgh’s North Side last month.

Kodiak, or Kody for short, took off through an opening in his outdoor enclosure on the morning of Sept. 25, aviary officials said. The massive bird stuck around the North Side but ventured as far north as Pine, where he was captured Sunday night.

Cathy Schlott, a licensed falconer, animal behaviorist and director of the aviary’s animal program and experiences, said the entire aviary team mobilized to help track the bird, one of the largest in the world. The ordeal was likely more stressful for the workers than it was for the bird.

“People might see a flock of birds … in one of our habitats and be like, ‘Oh, that’s a flock of these little birds,’ ” Schlott said. “Not for us. For us that work with these animals, we know them on an individual basis. They’re all individuals to us, and we care for them.”

A tearful Schlott called it “a very long nine days.”

Kody, Schlott said, did well during his time on the lam. His strong flight muscles allowed him to fly and soar, and they saw evidence that he was eating and hydrating while he was away from his habitat.

“He was calm as soon as he saw us,” she said.

The team tracking the bird immediately went to Pine when they received word Kody had been spotted by a resident in the neighborhood. She said one of the employees who regularly feeds Kody was able to make eye contact with him “to make sure he stayed calm.”

Team members, including a trained falconer, used a soft net to catch the bird, and he was placed in one of his normal travel carriers.

“He was very comfortable,” Schlott said. “We are able to monitor his comfort because, as animal behaviorists, the animals are always constantly talking back and forth with us, but they’re talking in a different way than humans are. They’re able to talk to us in their body language to show us what they’re thinking.”

She said Kody seemed rather unperturbed by the whole situation. Cheryl Tracy, executive director of the aviary, said he is resting comfortably behind the scenes.

“He is doing well and seems to be content to be back,” she said.

Sightings of Kodiak poured in during his nine days at large. He was spotted Thursday near North Park, where Tracy and others camped out overnight to monitor the bird’s roost. He spent some time traveling between North Park and Riverview Park.

“He really did stay close to the North Side” after he first escaped, Schlott said, but then “gradually started to go further north.”

She said Kody found greenery along the way in which to rest, relax and roost.

As for how he escaped his enclosure, which is surrounded by braided-metal netting, Schlott said the team still is investigating that. She said it is possible something spooked the bird during the night and he became overwhelmed in the moment.

New metal mesh is on its way to repair the hole, and crews will put a second mesh enclosure around the first as a fail-safe to prevent something like this from happening again.

That could take several weeks because of supply-chain issues. As a result, Tracy said, Kody could remain out of the public eye for some time.

The aviary will reopen to the public Thursday.