meet our ambassadors
Gracie
Gracie is a captive-bred, female Harris's Hawk. Having never known life in the wild, she was raised to serve as either a falconry hunting bird or as an educational ambassador for her species.
Harris's Hawks, like Gracie, are native to the desert Southwest of the US all the way down to Peru. They are the only species of hawk known to live socially in the wild and their cooperative/coordinated hunting style has earned them the nickname "wolves of the sky."
Hail
Hail, the Red-tailed Hawk, was rescued in Florida before being sent to live with us. While going through initial treatment at the rehab they found that he had a round worm in one eye. Luckily there are well known treatments for round worms as they are common in chickens however the damage was already done, leaving him permanently blind in one eye.
While Hail is a subspecies known as "Kriders," Red-tailed Hawks are the second largest species of hawk in North America and the most commonly seen. They are also a Hollywood favorite as their iconic call is often used as an "eagle" scream in film and television.
Thor
Despite being one of the most prolific hawks in North America, 80% of all Red-tailed Hawks do not make it to adulthood. For once, that's not entirely our (humanities) fault. Red-tailed hawks aren't the most dutiful parents . Once their young fledge and begin to hunt they are quickly left to fend for themselves. This leads to a great deal of young red-tails starving. That was likely the case with Thor when a resident of Bartlesville, OK, found him sitting in her yard. After hours of observation, she determined that something was wrong and called her local game warden - which is how he eventually found his way to us. During our initial health exams it was discovered that Thor had sarcoma in his foot (a literal one in a million occurrence for birds) and had to have a toe amputated. So far, the cancer has not returned and Thor is doing well to this day!
Sebastian
Sebastian is a case study in what NOT to do when you find a bird... As a baby, he was illegally "bird-napped" from the wild. The person who took him did little-to-no research on Great Horned Owls (diet, behavior, etc) and quickly learned that, no matter how cute and fluffy they look, owls are not good pets! As soon as he could fly, she threw the juvenile bird out into the world.
Due to his improper upbringing, Sebastian has none of the skills needed to survive in the wild. We are happy to report though that he is now living his best life and is the oldest bird in our care.
Zena
Zena is a Eurasian Eagle Owl and the only ambassador at Raptors Keep that isn't native to North America. As the name implies, this species hails from Europe and Asia. Being one of the largest owls in the world they are a true apex predator and are known to take prey as large as deer and wolf!
Unfortunately, these fierce predators have been hunted to the brink of extinction in much of their native range. Zena is one of many bred in captivity for the conservation of her species.
Vlad
Turkey Vultures are nature's cleanup crew! Thanks to their incredible digestive system, they are able to prevent the spread of numerous diseases such as rabies, plague, and botulism. As obligate scavengers though they are at high risk of car collisions as they frequently dine on road-kill. This is what happened to Vlad. At roughly six weeks old he was struck by a vehicle which shattered his left wing. After reconstructive surgery he now has most of the range of motion back in his wing - and what he lacks in mobility he more than makes up for in personality!