WMC Student Volunteers Rescue Hawk Found on Campus

URBANA — There’s a hawk on the University of Illinois campus, but he’s not there to play hockey. It’s actually a young red-tailed hawk. A University of Illinois officer found it on Tuesday night. Police say it was on the road by the power station on Oak Street. And investigators say it didn’t fly away when they got closer. Workers at the university’s wildlife clinic say that kind of behavior is usually a good clue something’s wrong.

“If they see people, they’ll want to fly away and not want to be around them, but since this guy was feeling so down and out, he was letting people come close to him because he didn’t have the energy to fly away and protect himself like a normal hawk would,” said Kelly Rockwell, who is the Wildlife Medical Clinic co-manager.

Workers say the bird was dehydrated and hadn’t been eating much either. They put an IV in one of his legs so he can get fluids. They say he’s in stable condition and say he should get better. Police say this is the first time they can remember seeing a hawk stranded on campus.

For the full story and news coverage, Click Here