RSHA 2022-0258
RSHA 2022-0258 is a juvenile red-shouldered hawk. She was admitted to the MWRC on May 9th after being found on the side of the road by one of the students who would be working in the clinic over the summer. She was found to be emaciated and dehydrated upon her intake. Since she was young and emaciated, staff hand-fed her three times a day, slowly increasing her amount of food. The veterinarian on staff noticed swelling in the hock area and a possible fracture in her metacarpals (the wrist of the wing).
After taking radiographs, it was confirmed that this juvenile suffered multiple fractures, including the right radius and ulna, the left ulna, and an abnormal pelvis (ischium/pubis). She was still able to use her feet however, we noticed that she was not able to stand. Her wings were wrapped to support the fractures while they healed and changed out as needed.
The team continued to hand feed her and do physical therapy for her legs/pelvis. She was given a donut to sit in and was encouraged to stand and walk when feeding. She eventually began to take her first few wobbly steps and gained weight as we increased her feeding amount. By May 18th, she was standing on her own and able to take a few steps with support, and starting to eat on her own. After her wings had healed enough, we started doing PT for them as well. Minor stretching of the wings and measuring of ROM (range of motion).
On June 2nd, she had made significant enough progress to move outside with two other juvenile red-shouldered hawks that were raised at the center in rehab. All three had a little trouble flying and landing the perching, but soon got the hang of it. By June 7th, they were ready to move into a 30’ flight enclosure. Within a few days, all three were flying the length of the 30’ enclosure.
On June 18th, they were moved to the 60’ flight enclosure. After a while, her friends were slowly released as she stayed behind to build better flight muscles and go through “mouse school”. In cases like hers where a baby raptor is brought in, there are many precautions and steps to go through in the rehab process. First, she had to make it through her injuries. Second, we had to limit our interactions for the process to ensure she wasn’t imprinted or habituated. Third, she needed to learn to fly on her own. The fourth, and final, step was making sure she knew how to hunt on her own. This would be an important step for her since she would have still been in the nestling/early fledgling stages when she was brought to us. Live mice were introduced to her shortly after going into the 60’ enclosure.
Mice were placed in the large metal framed center of the enclosure where she could see them. After not showing interest, they were placed on the opposite side of whatever perch she was on until she started showing interest and began associating the mice with food. After almost a week of live feeding her, she proved she could hunt successfully.
A few days later, RSHA 2022-0258 was released where she was found by the dedicated student who brought her in. She spent a total of 63 days in the care of the MWRC, in which she not only grew as a normal juvenile would, but she overcame the unique physical and mental obstacles in her path. Her story is a true testament to the miracles accomplished by students, staff, and volunteers.
