There used to be a youtuber by the name of Pam Aus - as far as I know she was just some blue collar worker with a job at the Dutch Harbor fishery. Dutch Harbor and the neighboring town Unalaska have more bald eagles than humans because they feast on all the scraps the fishery catches but doesn't want. Now an eagle pair had claimed a small territory right outside of Mrs. Aus's house, with a nest behind a hill to the right side of her yard. They never had to hunt because the fishery has an effectively infinite food supply and even if it didn't there's a huge sea full of fish right there, so they would alternate between perching on the lamppost over the main road, resting at their nest, and perching on the railing on Mrs. Aus's porch.
When they came to her porch, Mrs. Aus would often come out to film them as well as some of the other wildlife that found its way to her yard. Younger eagles would also often stop by, unaware that this was claimed territory or arrogant enough not to care. It made for a fascinating series of videos and Mrs. Aus had a wonderful voice, making her an excellent narrator. Recurring characters included:
Mrs. Eagle: The dominant one in the pair, with a confident, but mostly relaxed personality. Along with her mate would often stop by the porch to watch goings-on in the Aus household out of bored curiousity, or watch teh cars go by on the street below the lamppost, for the same reason.
Mr. Eagle: More skittish than Mrs. Eagle, he stopped by a bit less frequently but was still a mainstay of the series. He was less amicable and generally a bit more aloof and cautious around humans.
Gizmo: The first of Mrs. Aus's 3 cats. He was good friends with Mrs. Eagle and would often compete with her for the corner spot on the railing, as it was a preferred place by both of them to perch/rest. Like Mrs. Eagle he was very confident and didn't frighten easily, which let him get along well with the much larger eagles. Although early on Mrs. Aus was worried that the eagles might start seeing Gizmo as prey, this was quickly shown not to be the case because there is no reason for any eagle, young or old, in all of the Aleutians to go after a cat when they can get infinite fish for less effort than it would take a human to drive to the grocery store.
Suitcase: The second of the Aus cats. He never seemed to care much about the eagles and didn't seem to like the outdoors in general, so he was a bit selcouth, generally only going outside to eat from the cat food dish.
George: George was a stray that came to live under Mrs. Aus's porch. Although he appeared frequently in earlier videos, at some point he stopped showing up. According to Mrs. Aus, one day he went underneath the porch and never came back, and the only thing we can assume is that he died there somehow.
Todd the Fox: The series' comic relief, Todd was mischievious and playful in all the most stereotypical foxy ways. He would often try to steal George's cat food and apparently had a permanent ear on the house, as he had memorized the exact sound Mrs. Aus made whenever she called the cats out to eat, and would sometimes come running over if he heard her call the cats - but never if she called for any other reason. Smart animal. Apparently she wasn't the only person he was causing troubles for, as Mrs. Aus noted that some wildlife rangers were grumbling about Todd as well, and there were even talks to remove him from the island and put him somewhere else, away from humans. Apparently they never panned out, as even late in the series Todd was still around.
This series went on for about 5 or 6 years, until one day Mrs. Aus deleted her channel and all the videos vanished from the internet. Why she did this, I have no idea. Maybe someone came by to make trouble for her, it wasn't exactly hard to pinpoint where she lived based on her vids. Not saving the whole series when I had the chance is one of my greatest regrets and I still think about it often.
When they came to her porch, Mrs. Aus would often come out to film them as well as some of the other wildlife that found its way to her yard. Younger eagles would also often stop by, unaware that this was claimed territory or arrogant enough not to care. It made for a fascinating series of videos and Mrs. Aus had a wonderful voice, making her an excellent narrator. Recurring characters included:
Mrs. Eagle: The dominant one in the pair, with a confident, but mostly relaxed personality. Along with her mate would often stop by the porch to watch goings-on in the Aus household out of bored curiousity, or watch teh cars go by on the street below the lamppost, for the same reason.
Mr. Eagle: More skittish than Mrs. Eagle, he stopped by a bit less frequently but was still a mainstay of the series. He was less amicable and generally a bit more aloof and cautious around humans.
Gizmo: The first of Mrs. Aus's 3 cats. He was good friends with Mrs. Eagle and would often compete with her for the corner spot on the railing, as it was a preferred place by both of them to perch/rest. Like Mrs. Eagle he was very confident and didn't frighten easily, which let him get along well with the much larger eagles. Although early on Mrs. Aus was worried that the eagles might start seeing Gizmo as prey, this was quickly shown not to be the case because there is no reason for any eagle, young or old, in all of the Aleutians to go after a cat when they can get infinite fish for less effort than it would take a human to drive to the grocery store.
Suitcase: The second of the Aus cats. He never seemed to care much about the eagles and didn't seem to like the outdoors in general, so he was a bit selcouth, generally only going outside to eat from the cat food dish.
George: George was a stray that came to live under Mrs. Aus's porch. Although he appeared frequently in earlier videos, at some point he stopped showing up. According to Mrs. Aus, one day he went underneath the porch and never came back, and the only thing we can assume is that he died there somehow.
Todd the Fox: The series' comic relief, Todd was mischievious and playful in all the most stereotypical foxy ways. He would often try to steal George's cat food and apparently had a permanent ear on the house, as he had memorized the exact sound Mrs. Aus made whenever she called the cats out to eat, and would sometimes come running over if he heard her call the cats - but never if she called for any other reason. Smart animal. Apparently she wasn't the only person he was causing troubles for, as Mrs. Aus noted that some wildlife rangers were grumbling about Todd as well, and there were even talks to remove him from the island and put him somewhere else, away from humans. Apparently they never panned out, as even late in the series Todd was still around.
This series went on for about 5 or 6 years, until one day Mrs. Aus deleted her channel and all the videos vanished from the internet. Why she did this, I have no idea. Maybe someone came by to make trouble for her, it wasn't exactly hard to pinpoint where she lived based on her vids. Not saving the whole series when I had the chance is one of my greatest regrets and I still think about it often.
