Story
Spirit probably hit her
right wing on something while flying at high speed in
Minnesota (Peregrine falcons
can reach 200 mph in a dive, or "stoop"). Spirit
is a female of the eastern race of Pergrine Falcon. She
is a wonderful bird, calm on the hand, and a flagship
bird for RCV.
Spirit
fractured several of her right wing bones and luxated
(hyper-extended) her right elbow. Dr. Pat Redig, the
Director of The Raptor Center managed to surgically
fix her wing bones; however, there is no way to fix
a luxated elbow. Spirit cannot fly again.
Spirit was tranferred to RCV in March
of 2000, and immediately stepped into the role of the
star of a nationwide television program produced by
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to celebrate the
removal of her species from the federal Endangered Species
list. Spirit has responded well to being an ambassador
of her species in an educational role, and serves as
a living reminder to all of us of the potentially deadly
effects of pesticides on the environment and wildlife,
forty years after the crash of the wild Peregrine
falcons population, as documented in "Silent
Spring" by Rachel Carson.
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