Sadly, this raptor was put down at the University of Missouri. He (or she) was sitting on one of our flat trailers when I got home from work a couple of years back. It was about this time of year and we had snow on the ground and ice coming down. He seemed to just be waiting to be rescued, a lot like the other wildlife that have found their way here. I had rescued and rehabbed other raptors in the past and noted right away that this fella was all too calm and too close to the house to be "just" visiting.
I got out of my car and spoke to him, he just looked at me. I walked close and he hopped off the trailer to the ground with his back to me and just turned and looked again then made a few hops away then stopped. I called out to my husband who was nearby, stacking his cut wood and he took his coat off and gently placed it over the raptor and carried him to the garage to a little temporary cage, small so he couldn't flap around....but he never did. From the start, this raptor was docile and calm. He took dead as well as live food (barn mice I caught by leaving a feed bin open on purpose, and dead that my cat caught and left on the door step). He would take anything I offered and was a ravenous eater but as gentle as a pet when the food was offered, never hissing or striking. It was like feeding a baby bird actually. He drank from a pan of water and I have to say, I was amazed at his first reaction. He pulled the pan towards him and tipped it just enough to dip his beak deep in the water and drank a lot.
I'm an RN and love taking in and rehabbing anything that needs it but from the start, I felt this raptor was going to need more than I could provide so I contacted our local zoo, not even a response....then after looking into several raptor rescues, found the closest one in Columbia, Mo. It was a few weeks before they could send some of the students (Veterinary students) to pick him up. He thrived and became quite the pet, taking food from my hand and always perking up when I approached. I hated to see him leave but it was for the best. During that time, I spent countless hours in front of the computer trying to determine what sort of raptor he was, sending the few photo's I had taken at the beginning to any place I could for help to identify him but nothing matched.
Sadly, the Raptor rescue determined that after he was examined, x-rays and bloodwork that he would not have a quality of life and euthanized him then preserved him for future students......I will not go into how angry this made me but suffice it to say that I will never again entrust a rescue to one of these so-called rescues. He was doing extremely well here... I'm certain he would have had a quality life had I kept him and I am capable of doing so.
They were "good" enough to email me to tell me what they did to him and to tell me they were never able to identify what he was.
I may never learn his true identity but he will always remain in my heart and thoughts and to give him an identity would be so nice.
Attached are the photo's I took when I first rescued him, I'm so sorry I didn't take more, it's not like me to not document more but the whole time he was here was during an ice storm.
I got out of my car and spoke to him, he just looked at me. I walked close and he hopped off the trailer to the ground with his back to me and just turned and looked again then made a few hops away then stopped. I called out to my husband who was nearby, stacking his cut wood and he took his coat off and gently placed it over the raptor and carried him to the garage to a little temporary cage, small so he couldn't flap around....but he never did. From the start, this raptor was docile and calm. He took dead as well as live food (barn mice I caught by leaving a feed bin open on purpose, and dead that my cat caught and left on the door step). He would take anything I offered and was a ravenous eater but as gentle as a pet when the food was offered, never hissing or striking. It was like feeding a baby bird actually. He drank from a pan of water and I have to say, I was amazed at his first reaction. He pulled the pan towards him and tipped it just enough to dip his beak deep in the water and drank a lot.
I'm an RN and love taking in and rehabbing anything that needs it but from the start, I felt this raptor was going to need more than I could provide so I contacted our local zoo, not even a response....then after looking into several raptor rescues, found the closest one in Columbia, Mo. It was a few weeks before they could send some of the students (Veterinary students) to pick him up. He thrived and became quite the pet, taking food from my hand and always perking up when I approached. I hated to see him leave but it was for the best. During that time, I spent countless hours in front of the computer trying to determine what sort of raptor he was, sending the few photo's I had taken at the beginning to any place I could for help to identify him but nothing matched.
Sadly, the Raptor rescue determined that after he was examined, x-rays and bloodwork that he would not have a quality of life and euthanized him then preserved him for future students......I will not go into how angry this made me but suffice it to say that I will never again entrust a rescue to one of these so-called rescues. He was doing extremely well here... I'm certain he would have had a quality life had I kept him and I am capable of doing so.
They were "good" enough to email me to tell me what they did to him and to tell me they were never able to identify what he was.
I may never learn his true identity but he will always remain in my heart and thoughts and to give him an identity would be so nice.
Attached are the photo's I took when I first rescued him, I'm so sorry I didn't take more, it's not like me to not document more but the whole time he was here was during an ice storm.