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News Bites
The latest noteworthy PROGRAMS Meet an Animal Meet Dakota Red-tailed hawk.
news from around Ambassador Dakota’s history: Dakota has eye and wing injuries
Brookfield Zoo and she received in the wild. Fortunately, she was found
beyond the gates is Each issue, we introduce you to and treated at Walden’s Puddle Wildlife Center of
right at your fingertips. one of Brookfield Zoo’s Animal Greater Nashville, Tennessee, a wildlife rehabilitation
Ambassadors! Keep your eyes and education facility. In the wild, red-tailed hawks
peeled, you just might run into use their incredible vision to spot small animals and
these fascinating creatures on insects. She can no longer do that, so she was deemed
your next trip to the zoo. unreleasable and came to live here with us.
Typical day: Dakota lives with other birds of prey at
HAMILL FAMILY WILD ENCOUNTERS. She’s the bird with
the reddish-brown tail and the curved beak. Dakota
is a great Animal Ambassador because she is virtually
unflappable when greeting guests from her perch on her
animal care specialist’s glove. They wear thick falconry
gloves to protect their hands from her long, sharp
claws, or talons. Dakota’s steadiness allows her animal
care specialists to take her to special events including
Fiesta Del Sol, educational opportunities at Misericordia,
and trips to retirement centers. She helps train the next
generation of animal care specialists in caring for birds
of prey, including giving nail and beak trims.
About red-tailed hawks: If you’ve never seen a
red-tailed hawk, you’ve probably heard one. Their loud,
raspy cry—kee-eeeeee-ar—is often a sound effect in
wildlife programs and incorrectly
attributed to eagles. These hardy
birds are found in virtually any
DakotaHello, I’m habitat—even the ledges of
skyscrapers. Red-tailed hawks are
SASegpxee::cFi1ee8sm:yaeRlaeerds-toaldil,emd horaewokr less nature’s own pest control and
6TAifiHynomDmWeraNieaeeeeborsrtiiiirtsn:gtc,tahamhAdtte:n:AisWciem3emridtaetaoe,rnlfi4dArcaaarmrpn,maobMgtualseanesonxdsfadsichd,ooaa,rbnaipdtnraduotgrsCbrseaaunmnctrh:aaralesas keep rodent populations in check.
They are highly skilled at catching
mice, rats, and voles. When people
use rodenticides to keep these
critters out of their homes, the
toxic chemicals consumed by
the rodents are passed to hawks
leading to their deaths as well.
You can help conserve the red-
tailed hawk by avoiding the use
of rodenticides. Experts suggest
using peppermint, a snap trap,
or live traps to remove rodents
from your house and protect
hawk populations.
10 GATEWAYS | NEWS BITES
