North Sky Raptor Sanctuary has been nursing birds back to health for a number of years, but six months ago, the rehabilitation center was faced with a unique challenge.
They were presented with a red tailed hawk that had been poisoned by eating prey that had been poisoned. After calling across the country to find out if there were other cases, it turned out there was no common care procedures for a raptor with the specific type of poisoning.
Care takes at the sanctuary, including our guest Kaitlyn Bohnet, worked hard everyday to figure out the best way to make sure the hawk stayed alive. Now, six months later, the hawk now named Knuckles is being released back into nature!
“Knuckles, a Red tail Hawk who was poisoned over came all sorts of obstacles and with huge support was able to be released to live in the wild.
Knuckles wasn’t just a bird in need, she was a fighter. Even though she was a fighter she was curious, adaptable to change, and even sweet while in care. She built sincere trust with her caregiver -which is a lot for any creature to do and especially so as she was often in situations outside of her normal “wild” environment; handled by predators, mixed in with other species, challenged with adaptations (foot wear and bandages).
Her ability to adapt to change, overcome challenges, and still be sweet is what we absolutely love about this bird. You can have grace when faced with adversity and thrive!!
And then just as she was beginning to thrive on her own her need to move into a different role became significant. She maternally made a fake nest...and eventually was blessed with an opportunity to foster a baby. After months of rehab she hadn’t lost her purpose. She continued to accept her challenges and looked forward to teaching baby how to eat, when to eat, and how to hunt. She became attached and protected baby. She navigated a life ending experience by pushing past expectation and finding her footing again, she flew…”