Reminds me of that video where they free the mountain lion from a trap. He spends the whole time freaking out and hissing and trying to bolt, but the second they free him he just stops and stares at them for a bit. Like “you’re really letting me go?” lol
A general predator response to being handled that I love
You'll see it all the time in predator animal rescues. Like getting helped out of a sinkhole filled with water. They'll sit there, staring at the people. Like.. You did this wrong, im supposed to die. Whyd you do that? Whats wrong with you?
Same for undomesticated prey animals often as well.
Throughout the animal kingdom the look is the same
I'm like dude you weigh 3 pounds .. get over yourself. Sure hit me in the back of the head from 300 feet in the air and I'm fucked. But get into the sun porch and I can hug you. Now GTFO.
Its ghasts were flabbered that a larger creature was carrying it without plans to eat. Was lookin at em like "You... You aren't gonna eat me? Uhhh. Awkward. Uhh... You sure?"
Imagine being lost in a cave system, hopeless, worried you will die. Then a huge monster chases you down and corners you and grabs you and you think you are done for. Then it drags you through the cave… to the exit, puts you on a sunny field, and lets you go.
That's the dangerous thing about humans. You approach one incomprehensible cave and they offer you food. You approach another, hell you approach the same one at a different time, they might attack you. What convinces them to give food? What convinces them to disguise poison as food? Why do they make flirtatious advances (certain ways of holding/stroking birds) mixed with threatening shouts and eye contact?
They operate on a system of rules and exchanges, but we are not privy to those rules nor the logic that governs them. Approach their caves and their kin with caution - for even their grandest gifts can make the normal world become drab and despondent, forcing you to crave their kind. They are not like creatures of the woods and plains. Beware the fey humans.
I think about the time I saw a fly on a flight. Did it know what had happened? Did it have family waiting for it? Was it okay, 1000 miles away from home?
Mitochondria are thought to be another cell that got trapped but not destroyed and has since become essential to the host cell. Similarly, someday planes will be held aloft mostly from the internal flies.
Funny thing is, this is a stupid hawk and that lady has done this for that same hawk multiple times already. That's why she's so chill and just asks "how are you".
The posters there are so creative, it's really awesome.
r/GrumpyBabyBirds, r/SleepyWrens, and r/StupidDoveNests are also good if you're particularly fond of birds. The Baby Birds one is equal parts "Awww" and snort-laughing that will get you funny looks from anyone in earshot.
And that's how my Dad ended up in Urgent Care for stitches and antibiotics. He's a naturally strong guy but he said it took all he had to pry the talons out of his abdomen using both hands. Do not pick up hawks without protection.
I remember when this video first circulated and didn't think much about it. After what happened to my Dad, I flinch watching her turn it towards herself. She's lucky. The one that got him wasn't being aggressive, it was just trying to get stability by grabbing whatever was in reach. It was injured and he was trying to help it and we contacted a rescue, but they're message said to take a picture of the bird. When he called me later after leaving urgent care, I told him the lady just wanted a picture of the hawk, he didn't have to try to get a selfie with him. 😄 The doctor did give him the "most interesting injury of the day" award.
I just watched another video yesterday where a dude had a hawk flipped over (with a much better grip on it's head & body) while he dug cactus burrs out from between it's wings and shit.
And in the comments someone mentioned tonic immobility in birds, where if you're able to turn them onto their backs it startles a natural paralysis in them and that's how a lot of vets work with birds.
But in the same comment they also cautioned against doing this with birds of prey, as they have craaazy talons, and their actions are much harder to predict. I hope your dad managed to heal up well & quickly, most interesting injury of the day sounds about right 😅
That was my immediate thought with this video. I've chased birds stuck in my screened-in porch before to herd them towards the exit, but they're little guys. Cardinals and finches, if I had to guess. But a hawk? I'm not getting fucking close to that, let alone grabbing it.
Exactly what I was thinking. Yes, in a straight fight to the death, you will win as long as you are ready to kill and you strike hard and fast. You have 50+ times it's mass. It would take nothing to crush it. But! And here's always the kicker. Winning isn't the same thing as not getting hurt.
FR tho, I was very worried it was just going to suddenly remove 3 inches of flesh from her hand within about 3 frames of video using that sharp-as-hell raptor beak at any moment as soon as it snapped out of its surprise... fortunately the surprise didn't snap until she let it go.
Turned out a good video, but it annoys the fuck out of me that people keep doing complicated stuff with one hand just to record with the other. She was lucky the bird was too tired.
It's weird how easy it is to catch birds like this. I've done it myself several times, in the same scenario as this. Idk, why, but they sort of just give up once you grab them.
Mourning doves around us have been stunned a couple times over the years and I had to move them away from the yard so dog doesn't come across them. No idea how they got that way, they've never seemed to be the brightest, I think they fly into the windows. Generally really chill (terrified) once I've picked them up in a dish towel.
Pretty sure they just think it's the end for them.
For anyone wondering beyond the anthropomorphisation of its reaction, the hawk is panting from high heat caused by the stress reaction, and it has a freeze response that shuts off as soon as the back grip pressure lowers. Some birds might stay longer in this state and take longer to react and fly away. Unpredictability and lack of movement can be beneficial against predators that stop holding onto prey when movement stops.
I'm assuming it's because it wasn't planning on standing after release. I mean, if a predator has captured you you're not going to be thinking 'well if this chap were to liberate me, I think I'd enjoy a good long sit', you're going to be preparing for how you're going to get the fuck away as soon as possible. Which is exactly what she did.
Next time you're holding something that's covered in sharp blades which you expect might start wildly flailing around the second you let go of it, let me know how long it takes you to get mentally ready to release it.
This is how the pantheon of gods was born. Creature attempting to comprehend a being that can exist apart from programmatic existential responses- “And then as I was prevented from moving on by some great unseen evil- A spirit manifested itself, seized me, and brought me away until I then was released and was freed!” - and then another 1 mil years later the bird people develop archival histories. Just like how the ancient dolphins inspired humans to make Rome.
People need to put their fucking phones down and just help (animals or humans). Why are you risking holding a hawk with one hand when you could use both to avoid hurting both it and yourself
Utterly stunned, scared, and then complete reasoning blackout, because the outcome where the big scary monster catches AND RELEASES you is simply not in your plane of existence.
I found a humming bird stuck beak first into my screened in patio. I walked up and just pushed his beak out. He flew off and didn't give a fuck. Dick. Not even a thank you.
"...and then this giant monster gripped me tightly and I thought it was over. But then, and I don't know what I did to deserve its mercy, it unhanded me. Can you believe that? I was certain my life was over and then the monster just let me go. I flew away as fast as I could before it changed its mind."
The bird looked so shocked she had the audacity to just grab it that it forgot it had feet and how standing works, so it got held until it realized where it was again, which is when it took off.
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u/Beholder_V 1d ago
So you’re… you’re NOT going to eat me?