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Hawk rescued from SUV’s grill after collision in Chelmsford, officials say
The red-tailed hawk was alert and conscious when transferred to a cage, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.
A red-tailed hawk was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 495 in Chelmsford Thursday and was transported to a local veterinarian teaching hospital, according to authorities.
The Massachusetts State Police Concord Barracks received a call at 1:07 p.m. on Jan. 16 from a driver who hit a hawk while on the highway. Police responded to the area and found the hawk stuck in the grill of the driver’s Honda SUV, according to a statement from the Massachusetts State Police.
The troopers on the scene contacted Massachusetts Environmental Police, Chelmsford animal control, and technicians from Nucar Honda of Westford to strategize the safest way to remove the bird from the car, the statement said.
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The Nucar technicians performed a partial disassembly of the vehicle in order to extract the hawk safely. The collaboration of all parties involved helped free the bird and secure it in a cage, according to the police statement.
The bird was alert and conscious when transferred to the cage, the statement said.
Massachusetts Environmental Police took the bird to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton to be further evaluated.
The school performed a physical examination and took radiographs which showed an ulnar fracture in the hawk’s wing and some chronic injuries, according to a statement from Wildlife Clinic Director Maureen Murray.
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“The hawk presented with a thin body condition and will need further evaluation but will be kept comfortable with pain medication and nutritional support,” Murray said in the statement. “Veterinarians will continue to provide treatment and monitor the hawk’s injuries over the coming days.”
“The hawk is bright and alert today and ate this morning,” Murray said Friday.
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