Rescued red-tailed hawk, turtle treated at Chattahoochee Nature Center
Photos courtesy of Chattahoochee Nature Center
ROSWELL, Ga. - The Chattahoochee Nature Center’s Wildlife Rehabilitation team is currently treating two injured animals brought in over the holiday weekend—a Red-tailed Hawk struck by a car and an Eastern box turtle attacked by a dog.
What we know:
The male Red-tailed Hawk, admitted on July 5, was rescued in Marietta after being hit by a vehicle. The finder collected the bird while it was still unconscious, but it regained consciousness en route to the center. Upon examination, the hawk was found to have a concussion and blood in his right eye, along with a previously existing broken talon on his right foot. He is currently undergoing treatment with oral medications and eye drops. Notably, the hawk is also in the process of molting from juvenile to adult tail feathers.
Just two days earlier, on July 3, a sub-adult male Eastern box turtle arrived after being attacked by a dog in a Douglasville yard. The front of the turtle’s carapace had been badly chewed. Wildlife staff flushed the wounds, applied topical antibiotics, bandaged the injuries, and administered injectable pain medication.
What's next:
Both animals are under observation as the team works to stabilize their conditions and prepare them for eventual release back into the wild.