The Red Tail Hawk of Zero G story

[Wasatch]

Great job guy's, I will buy each of you a beer or two.

[goofball]

kudos.

raptors are magnificent creatures, thanks for going to the rescue.

[erial]

after the recent run of sad stories coming out of zion, it was certainly a relief and a boost to follow this story to its unexpected joyful conclusion.

[RedRoxx]

What a fun and wonderful tale all the way thru--glad everything turned out ok for everybody, and some more canyoneering to boot.

[mrabe1979]

nice work!! this thread has been way more entertaining than the NBA finals!!

[Cirrus2000]

Apparently I haven't been keeping up with what's going on. Started reading this thread, but had no idea what it was about. Caught on eventually, though...

Excellent job, guys!!!

Those raptors are pretty sweet. We get tons of red tail hawks around here, and they are so beautiful. Lots of bald eagles in the winter, too. Amazing birds. I was once riding my bike near the beach, and had a golden eagle swoop by about 15 feet above my head - now THAT was a big sucker!!!


Anyway, all that said, I'm just glad there was no picture of this:

Having marc on top gave me a great handhold

[Alex]

Oh man, I just realized what I said!!! OK I will blame it on the whole English language

[Cirrus2000]

OK I will blame it on the whole English language

It's a crazy thing, isn't it?

Anyway - once again, good job both you guys!

[hank moon]

...A truly chilling tale...

BERLIN (Reuters) - An aggressive squirrel attacked and injured three people in a German town before a 72-year-old pensioner dispatched the rampaging animal with his crutch.

The squirrel first ran into a house in the southern town of Passau, leapt from behind on a 70-year-old woman, and sank its teeth into her hand, a local police spokesman said Thursday.

With the squirrel still hanging from her hand, the woman ran onto the street in panic, where she managed to shake it off.

The animal then entered a building site and jumped on a construction worker, injuring him on the hand and arm, before he managed to fight it off with a measuring pole.

"After that, the squirrel went into the 72-year-old man's garden and massively attacked him on the arms, hand and thigh," the spokesman said. "Then he killed it with his crutch."

The spokesman said experts thought the attack may have been linked to the mating season or because the squirrel was ill.


http://tinyurl.com/yvs36d

[Iceaxe]

I don't think you guys rescued the right bird.... the blood thirsty creature that attacked me in the tiny dark slot was at least four times bigger and the talons were much longer then the quite little critter in the picture.

[Alex]

I don't think you guys rescued the right bird.... the blood thirsty creature that attacked me in the tiny dark slot was at least four times bigger and the talons were much longer then the quite little critter in the picture.

Hmm, maybe we should go back in?

[Jammer]

Awesome job you guys! You both really deserve praise for making that trip happen. I re-told this story to several of my friends tonight and we all salute you~!!

-Jamal

[Alex]

I called to the lady last night and sounds like the hawk is still losing weight right now, which meant that the hawks body was in shut down stage. The lady is still tube feeding the hawk 4 times a day. They did an xray and his tail bone isn't broken, but his ligaments are not great. She said the recovery would take about 6 months and there is still no guarantee that the hawk would be released into the wild.

It's funny how we did rescue the bird and all the 10 minutes of work and we think we are all bad ass. But she has to deal with the bird for 6 months!

[Alex]

Debby just sent me some pics of the action that Connie took (the lady who was with us), check them out on page 1 if you care

http://uutah.com/forum/viewtopic.php...er=asc&start=0

[Iceaxe]

Hey.... Alex and Marc made the front page of the Utah section in the SL Tribune. Nice....

Zero Gravity Canyon
Pair rescues red-tailed hawk from 100-foot-deep crevasse
By Nathan C. Gonzalez
The Salt Lake Tribune

Traversing the steep and narrow crevasses of Zero Gravity Canyon about 50 miles west of Moab, Alex Korkishko and Marc Olivares found themselves in a unique position to save a life.

Maneuvering the passages with friends June 10, they were nearly attacked by a startled 2-year-old red tailed hawk they soon realized was imprisoned. Somehow, the hawk had flown into the 100-foot-deep canyon with tight openings - probably after chasing a rodent - but was unable to make it out.

The group weighed their options: leave the hurt creature behind to most certainly die, or mount what would be a difficult rescue in tight quarters.

"We kind of left the hawk there," Korkishko said, of their initial decision. "We figured we'd let Mother Nature take its course."

But the thought of leaving the defenseless hawk weighed on Olivares. He contacted Debbie Pappas, owner of the Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Price. On Wednesday, a rescue mission was launched.

Korkishko and Olivares again braved the steep canyon walls and narrow openings to locate the injured hawk. Tagging along was Connie Waddell, a volunteer at the rehabilitation center.

"It was a tight squeeze," Korkishko said, adding that crevasse openings narrow to a few inches. "It can be a trap for animals that can get in but not out. You still have to have a lot of technical climbing gear."

After reaching the exhausted animal, which was using whatever energy was left in its body to fight back, Korkishko hoisted the bird to safety using a fishing net and a blanket.

Waddell wrapped the rescued bird in the blanket to secure him.

"He was scared and wanted to go," Waddell said. "He was doing as much struggling as he could. He looked grateful."

The animal's talons and beak were worn down, and it was in "extremely poor condition," said Pappas.

Aside from dehydration, the bird also suffered ligament damage and abrasions to its joints as it tried to exit the canyon on its own, she said.

But now the hawk, which has since been named "Alemar" after rescuers Alex and Marc, is on the mend and will likely be released in six months after being rehabilitated, Pappas said.

In the meantime, the bird will be fed through a tube four times a day for two weeks. It has a 70 to 75 percent chance of a full recovery.

"We are just keeping him still and quiet," Pappas said. "Anytime he's rambunctious, he's burning calories. Our main goal is to keep him as still as possible."

Pappas said the rescue came just in time for Alemar.

"Had it been one more day," she said, "it would have been useless."

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6166752

[tanya]

How did I miss this thread!!?!?!

I am so impressed guys!!!!!

[hesse15]

wow i got the right connections!!!!
that is super
ihihihihhihihih

Hey.... Alex and Marc made the front page of the Utah section in the SL Tribune. Nice....

Zero Gravity Canyon
Pair rescues red-tailed hawk from 100-foot-deep crevasse
By Nathan C. Gonzalez
The Salt Lake Tribune

Traversing the steep and narrow crevasses of Zero Gravity Canyon about 50 miles west of Moab, Alex Korkishko and Marc Olivares found themselves in a unique position to save a life.

Maneuvering the passages with friends June 10, they were nearly attacked by a startled 2-year-old red tailed hawk they soon realized was imprisoned. Somehow, the hawk had flown into the 100-foot-deep canyon with tight openings - probably after chasing a rodent - but was unable to make it out.

The group weighed their options: leave the hurt creature behind to most certainly die, or mount what would be a difficult rescue in tight quarters.

"We kind of left the hawk there," Korkishko said, of their initial decision. "We figured we'd let Mother Nature take its course."

But the thought of leaving the defenseless hawk weighed on Olivares. He contacted Debbie Pappas, owner of the Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Price. On Wednesday, a rescue mission was launched.

Korkishko and Olivares again braved the steep canyon walls and narrow openings to locate the injured hawk. Tagging along was Connie Waddell, a volunteer at the rehabilitation center.

"It was a tight squeeze," Korkishko said, adding that crevasse openings narrow to a few inches. "It can be a trap for animals that can get in but not out. You still have to have a lot of technical climbing gear."

After reaching the exhausted animal, which was using whatever energy was left in its body to fight back, Korkishko hoisted the bird to safety using a fishing net and a blanket.

Waddell wrapped the rescued bird in the blanket to secure him.

"He was scared and wanted to go," Waddell said. "He was doing as much struggling as he could. He looked grateful."

The animal's talons and beak were worn down, and it was in "extremely poor condition," said Pappas.

Aside from dehydration, the bird also suffered ligament damage and abrasions to its joints as it tried to exit the canyon on its own, she said.

But now the hawk, which has since been named "Alemar" after rescuers Alex and Marc, is on the mend and will likely be released in six months after being rehabilitated, Pappas said.

In the meantime, the bird will be fed through a tube four times a day for two weeks. It has a 70 to 75 percent chance of a full recovery.

"We are just keeping him still and quiet," Pappas said. "Anytime he's rambunctious, he's burning calories. Our main goal is to keep him as still as possible."

Pappas said the rescue came just in time for Alemar.

"Had it been one more day," she said, "it would have been useless."

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_6166752

[Iceaxe]

Yeah.... a big cheer for hesse.... she is the one who turned it over to the local news.

[marc olivares]

[rockgremlin]

I contacted FoxNews about it, but I guess they didn't feel it was important enough...