Submitted by Sherry Wernicke, Riverside
My husband recently noticed a large brown lump in our front yard. When he walked over for a closer look, that lump turned out to be a hawk in obvious distress.
A hawk in distress was discovered in Riverside. Contributed photo
Not knowing what the issue was or what to do and quite frankly feeling just a bit uneasy handling a hawk with talons, he called Greenwich Animal Control and Wildlife in Crisis in Weston. Both groups were more than happy to help.
Carolyn Smith, one of the Greenwich Animal Control officers, promptly came over. Having worked for the Bronx Zoo, she knew exactly what to do. She was able to place the hawk in a box and my husband drove it up to WIC.
The intake personnel promptly examined the hawk and told Carl they didn’t think anything was broken and in all likelihood it was rodenticide poisoning. They would need to flush him out, but felt he should be flying within a month.
For those of you who don’t know, rodenticides, rat poisons, are a huge problem up and down the ecosystem and pose a serious risk to public health and the environment.
Not only are wildlife affected but so are cats and dogs.
Tragically, they cause a slow, agonizing death. Many groups have tried to ban second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) in Connecticut but our legislators can’t seem to ever take action.
Having now seen the effects up close and personal, my husband and I would like to urge everyone to contact their legislators and request that next session, they sponsor a bill to ban SGARs.
But back to the hawk…We were recently informed that the magnificent creature should be released back to the wild in the next few weeks. We are thrilled.
First, I am so proud of my husband for taking such quick action that undoubtedly saved its life. But there would be no happy ending were it not for the quick and compassionate responses of Greenwich Animal Control and Wildlife In Crisis. Huge kudos!! We are so grateful for being able to call on them in such times of need.
Please consider a donation to Wildlife In Crisis as they are a volunteer organization and one of only a few groups that care for injured and abandoned wildlife in our area. You can find them at wildlifeincrisis.org.
Take a few minutes to read about the amazing work they do in Weston then show them you care with a donation. As we found out, you never know when you will need them!