Rangers Rescue More Than People
Department Environmental Conservation officers rescue people lost and injured in the woods, while firemen often rescue cats from trees. Combine their efforts and you get a recuse in Weedsport that will make you feel warm, despite our frigid temperatures.
DEC officer Scott Sincebaugh got a call about an injured red-tailed hawk near Cato. At the scene he found the hawk had become ensnared in a trap. Somehow, the bird was able to fly away with the trap still tightly grasping one leg. It even made it to a tree, but the trap's chain had tangled on a branch.
As the photo shows, the Hawk was at the top of a very tall tree. The officer got in touch with the Weedsport Fire Department and they responded with their ladder truck. Once the bird was out of the tree, they were able to remove the trap from it's leg.
The story does have a happy ending, the hawk wasn't seriously injured and was taken to a wildlife rehabilitator for evaluation and future release. The trap didn't have a tag identifying the owner as required by law, making it impossible to determine where the hawk had encountered the trap.
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