“CHECK OUT THOSE pantaloons,” says Craig Webb, gesturing towards ‘Mrs Wedgie’ as she struts past us, her enormous talons padding across the aviary floor. Standing around one metre tall, Mrs Wedgie the wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey on the continent, and one of the largest eagles anywhere on Earth. The breeze rustles the fluffy down on her mighty legs, the plumage so dense that it indeed looks like she’s wearing a marvellous pair of feathered trousers.
Mrs Wedgie is one of the oldest residents at the Raptor Refuge, perched in the tranquil bushland outside Hobart/Nipaluna. She was rescued almost a decade ago from abuse at a wildlife park, and now shares a spacious aviary with five other ‘wedgies’, including ‘Witchy Poo’, who was saved after she was…