HOUGHTON, MI – A young red-tailed hawk soared back into the wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this week.
It had been one month since Michigan State Police troopers rescued the injured raptor. Those same troopers were on hand for the release on Thursday.
Video shared by MSP shows that one of them donned the animal handling gloves and set the recovered hawk free. In the video, a trooper can be seen standing at the edge of a field holding the hawk in two hands and then lifting his hand off the hawk’s back and wings. The hawk then spreads its wings and flies toward a wooded area.
On Oct. 15, troopers from the MSP Houghton Lake Post rescued the hawk, which was suffering from a severe concussion and a ruptured air sac, officials said. For more than a month, the bird was healing and regaining strength in the care of the Association to Rescue Kritters (A.R.K.).
The release happened at the exact spot where the troopers found the hawk, A.R.K. said on Facebook.
“Yesterday, the same troopers who saved him were there to release him back into the wild,” MSP Spl/Lt. Ashley Miller said. “This resilient hawk is now ready to continue his journey through life.”
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