A thief in the Town of Erin must have known what they were doing when they grabbed a bird and flew the coop.

After all, Riff-Raff the golden eagle wasn’t exactly an easy target.

“She’s a very large bird (and) not very friendly,” says Janet Michaud.

“(She) can be aggressive to people that she doesn’t know.”

Michaud works at Hawkeye, an aviary located on the First Line of Erin, northeast of Rockwood.

The aviary has more than 20 birds of prey, including a bald eagle and a snowy owl. Until a few days ago, they also had Riff-Raff.

Sometime Saturday or Sunday, one or more people nabbed Riff-Raff from her home. The theft was discovered later in the day Sunday, when workers went in to feed the birds and found that a door had been left open. The door leads to a hallway with no further openings, meaning Riff-Raff couldn’t have escaped on her own.

Riff-Raff is described as being three to five years old, about 2’6” and 23 pounds. She is worth an estimated $15,000, and is often used in falconry demonstrations, school field trips and movie shoots.

Wherever she may be, Michaud hopes she’s with someone knowledgeable enough about birds that they can properly feed and care for her.

“You would definitely have to have some kind of experience to know how to handle the bird,” she says.

“They’re not a bird that anyone can have.”

Wellington County OPP are investigating the theft. They say they haven’t been able to identify any suspects, and haven’t heard of any sightings of the eagle.

“It could be anywhere, and that’s why we’re asking the public for their assistance,” Const. Joshua Cunningham says.

Police have not seen anything to suggest that Riff-Raff was stolen as part of an animal rights protest.

With reporting by Tina Yazdani