Overweight hawk found unable to fly in Virginia

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 6 Nov, 09:53 · Archive

A female hawk weighing over 910g was found grounded in Virginia and diagnosed as too heavy to fly.

An adult female red-shouldered hawk was discovered grounded in a homeowner's driveway near Roanoke, Virginia, and brought to the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center for examination. The bird weighed over 910g, approximately twice the typical weight of 450g to 680g for red-shouldered hawks.

Rescuers initially investigated whether the hawk had suffered injuries or illness. They tested for broken bones, lead poisoning, eye problems, head trauma and bruising. All tests came back normal, revealing instead that the bird had accumulated excessive body fat. The wildlife center said they "couldn't even palpate her keel due to the heavy layer of fat covering it".

A neighbour subsequently reported that their free-range chickens had been disappearing over several weeks. The rescuers concluded that the hawk had repeatedly preyed on the easily accessible birds, eating to excess and then resting in nearby trees. The wildlife center noted that obesity is extremely rare in wild animals without human intervention.

How it is being reported

• Female hawk found ‘too fat to fly’ after overeating and snoozing between mealsAdult female bird weighing more than 910g was discovered in a homeowner’s driveway near RoanokeIndependent World · 6 Nov, 09:25
• Hawk diagnosed as ‘too fat to fly’ after overeating chickens and snoozing for weeks on end“The diagnosis: At over 910g [2 pounds] in weight, she was too darn fat to fly!" the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke wrote.New York Post · 6 Nov, 03:06

In this story: Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center · Roanoke · Virginia

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