Damogran Frond Crested Eagle
An ingenious sea eagle native to Damogran that salvaged pages one and two of Zaphod Beeblebrox's prepared speech to construct an unbreakable papier-mâché nest—having heard of the notion of survival of the species, but wanting no truck with it.
Creature Profile: The Damogran Frond Crested Eagle
"Pages three to seven of the original version were at the moment floating soggily on the Damogran sea some five miles out from the bay. Pages one and two had been salvaged by a Damogran Frond Crested Eagle and had already become incorporated into an extraordinary new form of nest which the eagle had invented. It was constructed largely of papier mâché and it was virtually impossible for a newly hatched baby eagle to break out of it. The Damogran Frond Crested Eagle had heard of the notion of survival of the species but wanted no truck with it."
— The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Chapter 4
The Damogran Frond Crested Eagle is a coastal sea bird indigenous to the scattered desert-island archipelagos of Damogran. While outwardly majestic as it rides the thermal currents above the cliffs of Easter Island and France, the eagle is famous among galactic xenobiologists for its baffling refusal to cooperate with natural selection.
The Papier-Mâché Nest Innovation
On the afternoon of the unveiling of the Heart of Gold, Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox tossed the original copy of his deliciously turned seven-page speech overboard while speeding across the Damogran sea in his ion-drive delta boat:
- The Salvage Operation: While pages three to seven floated soggily five miles out from the bay, an enterprising Damogran Frond Crested Eagle swooped down and salvaged pages one and two.
- Structural Engineering: Combining the high-grade Imperial stationary with sea spray and coastal mucilage, the eagle incorporated the presidential speech into an extraordinary new form of nest it had invented—constructed largely of papier-mâché.
- Anti-Survival Philosophy: Once dried in the hot Damogran sun, the papier-mâché shell cured to a concrete-like hardness that made it virtually impossible for a newly hatched baby eagle to break out of it—a design flaw that bothered the adult eagle not at all, as it "had heard of the notion of survival of the species but wanted no truck with it."
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