Injured hawk with fractured spine sent to Teton Raptor Center

Have you ever found an injured animal, be it a dog or cat or a wild animal or bird? What do you do if you find one?

Over the weekend Local News 8 anchor Doug Long and his wife were driving along 49th South in Ammon when they saw something in the middle of the road. As they approached and slowed down they could see it was a hawk.

They stopped the car and Doug got out to see if it would move out of the road as he got closer to it, but it just sat there looking up at him. At that point he knew it was injured bad enough that it either didn't want to move or couldn't.

He tried contacting local law enforcement, animal control, even the Tautphaus Park Zoo, but being Sunday all he got was voice mail. At that point he decided to move the bird and get it out of the road where it would most certainly be hit by a car or harmed by another animal.

After placing a towel over the bird, he was able to gently pick it up and place it in a basket in the trunk of his car. He then drove it home and placed the basket, with the bird, in his garage. The hawk never attempted to get out of the basket and remained there through the night.

On Monday morning, he was able to contact Bonneville County Sheriff Deputy, Brandon McIntier, who just happens to also work closely with the Teton Raptor Center in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He came to Doug's house and was able to get the hawk and transport it to Jackson and the raptor center.

Deputy McIntier said the best thing to do if you find an animal that is hurt is to call your county dispatch and report it. Let them know where it is and how to find it. In most cases attempting to move the animal, depending on what kind it is, could pose a danger to yourself and the animal, but in this case and under the circumstances moving the hawk was likely the best way to save the bird.

When the hawk arrived at the Teton Raptor Center it was x-rayed and found to have a core cord fracture in her spine, but there is good news. with three to four weeks of rest the fracture will heal on its own. After a few weeks they will put the hawk in their flight barn to make sure she can fly and do all of the things she needs to do to survive in the wild.

We've been in contact with the Teton Raptor Center and will be working with them to do a follow up story on the progress of the injured hawk and we are hopeful to be there when she is fully healed and released. We will provide updates on Local News 8 evening newscasts and here at Local News 8 dot com.