Every day, team members at Wildlife in Crisis in Weston, Connecticut, receive over 200 phone calls about animals in need.
After 38 years of operation, the animal experts assumed they’d seen it all, until just recently, when they examined a rescue hawk
and found two wild surprises clinging to his back.
The rescue began like any other. A homeowner looked out her window and noticed the hawk struggling in her pool. She called Wildlife in Crisis experts, who coached her through the rescue process, instructing her to remove the bird with a net and bring him to their facility as soon as possible.
Back at the rescue center, a bird biologist examined the hawk and found something she never expected.
“[She] could not believe her eyes!” Wildlife in Crisis director Dara Reid told The Dodo. “She asked one of our interns to confirm what she thought she saw. They were shocked!”
There, clinging to the hawk’s feathers, were two tree frogs.
Miraculously, the frogs were unharmed. Rescuers assume they had also been drowning in the pool and grabbed onto the hawk’s back in an effort to save themselves. It turns out, their plan had worked perfectly.
Rescuers carefully removed the frogs and released them into the wetlands near the sanctuary.
Meanwhile, team members dried the hawk, administered antibiotics and treated him for shock. They watched as the energy slowly returned to his body.
“He was limp and unable to stand when he arrived,” Reid said. “After a few days of rest, we were able to put him into one of our large flight cages, where he began to fly from perch to perch, letting us know he was ready to be returned to nature.”
Rescuers brought the hawk back to the area where he was found and opened the door to his transport cage. Then they watched in awe as he took to the sky.
“Releasing the wild animals in our care is always our ultimate goal,” Reid said. “We were delighted that this hawk was able to fully recover and regain his freedom.”
