The injured red-tailed hawk that landed in my Phoenix neighborhood has died. The rescue organization that found the bird suspects she was electrocuted by a power line.
The hawk was nicknamed Feral because a colony of cats had her cornered in a neighbor’s yard when the rescuer showed up in early December. Feral was recovering north of Phoenix at the Wild at Heart raptor rescue, where she had shown early signs of improvement.
But last week, she took a turn.
It’s not uncommon for large birds like eagles and hawks to get electrocuted when they come in contact with power lines. According to one study, anywhere from about 1 million to nearly 12 million birds die this way every year in the U.S. Other research suggests many birds found dead near power lines actually died from a gunshot wound.
In recent days, the muscle on Feral’s wing began showing signs of necrosis, the death of most cells after an injury or disease, according to Wild at Heart Operations Manager Eric Murray. A flight tendon had also been severed, which meant she’d never fly again.
The medical staff made the decision to humanely euthanize the bird.
“Her feisty attitude was not great for life in captivity,” Murray explained. “She definitely acted like she would rather be out away from people and not stuck in a cage.”
APS, the local utility company, said it plans to install more bird guards on the power lines in that area to help prevent other birds from getting shocked in the future.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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