Killer still at large!

I kid you not--this evening's 11 p.m. news included a feature on a local Chihuahua knocked off by a redtail hawk. It included interviews with two of the bereaved, stills of the departed, file footage of a redtail, helpful facts such as the hawks are found in all of the lower 48 states, and well as a graphic representation of a raptor in a dive.

The police may not make it there in time to save poor Fifi if you live anywhere near the vast real estate holdings which comprise Fort LMC. Arm yourselves to save your rat-like dog from certain death that will come without warning from the sky.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

YIPS FROM A FAITHFUL READER: From a Boy Named Sous: When I lived in San Diego, I loved to attend the bird of prey shows at the Wild Animal Park, including the up-close "Hawk Talks" after the whistles-and-bells show. In one of these I learned that Red-tailed Hawks are , which are diving raptors. Once they commit to a dive, they are very unmanouverable, and if their prey sees them and scampers, chances for escape are good -- 90% of the time, a Buteo misses its prey. Owls, on the other hand, swoop in from low altitudes, and 90% of their attacks result in a meal.

And even at 9 to 1 odds, the Chihuahua couldn't beat the spread. Tells ya something, donnit?

Posted by: LMC at 11:22 PM

Comments

1 When I lived in San Diego, I loved to attend the bird of prey shows at the Wild Animal Park, including the up-close "Hawk Talks" after the whistles-and-bells show. In one of these I learned that Red-tailed Hawks are , which are diving raptors. Once they commit to a dive, they are very unmanouverable, and if their prey sees them and scampers, chances for escape are good -- 90% of the time, a Buteo misses its prey. Owls, on the other hand, swoop in from low altitudes, and 90% of their attacks result in a meal.

And even at 9 to 1 odds, the Chihuahua couldn't beat the spread. Tells ya something, donnit?

Posted by: Boy Named Sous at January 17, 2008 02:50 AM (xRL5x)

2 Death from above... So much for peace and harmony in nature. My gosh, those animals are trying eat each other!!

Posted by: kmr at January 17, 2008 07:54 AM (3i2Pe)

3 The hawks around Orgle Manor routinely dive bomb the bird feeder by the back door. Many a time I've been startled out of a light doze by the sound of a mourning dove slamming into the library window as it tries to escape.

Posted by: Robbo the LB at January 17, 2008 09:24 AM (Jp+mD)

4 And just where is PETA in all this?

Posted by: rbj at January 17, 2008 10:02 AM (UgG6+)

5 Sorry about the html goof-up in my earlier comment. Its supposed to say "red-tailed hawks are Buteos, which", and the link should only be the word Buteos.

Posted by: Boy Named Sous at January 17, 2008 10:54 AM (xRL5x)






Processing 0.0, elapsed 0.0074 seconds.
18 queries taking 0.0057 seconds, 13 records returned.
Page size 5 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.