An injured red-tailed hawk had a fractured and dislocated digit removed in a 15-minute surgery Thursday afternoon at the Burlingame Center For Compassion.
An injured red-tailed hawk had a fractured and dislocated digit removed in a 15-minute surgery Thursday afternoon at the Burlingame Center For Compassion.
Forget a wing and a prayer — an injured red-tailed hawk got a new lease on life from a Peninsula Humane Society veterinarian who amputated one digit from the bird’s left foot in a short but unusual procedure.
A Good Samaritan brought the bird to PHS/SPCA July 21 after finding it struggling on the ground in a marshy area of unincorporated Redwood City. The Wildlife Rescue Center staff cleaned the sewage-covered raptor and discovered its one digit was fractured and dislocated. When the injury wouldn’t heal, staff decided that removal was the best option. Dr. Sarah Currie performed the amputation in a 15-minute surgery Thursday afternoon at the Burlingame Center For Compassion that required a little improvisation to accommodate the bird’s small mouth. The staff used a mask for dogs, stretched a rubber glove over the end, then cut a small hole in the rubber, so the seal would be tight around the beak, said PHS/SPCA spokesman Scott Delucchi.
The hawk will be monitored for days or even weeks to ensure the digit stump heals and it has no further problems with flight, perching or hunting.
The outermost digit removed isn’t crucial for grabbing prey or perching, according to Delucchi.
Without intervention, the talon would continue to grow, most likely curling into tissue, and PHS/SPCA staff believed it would be a “painful annoyance” for the hawk.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.