Red-tailed hawk released back into the wild after recovering from injury
There was a release of a red-tailed hawk Friday, as it went from a crate back into the wild.
The backstory, however, is even more spectacular. It involves Jocelyn Lara, her husband, and their baby boy.
They were in their vehicle on Hwy 121 about a month ago.
"All of a sudden, we see a giant bird coming at us," Lara recalled.
There was no time to react.
"My husband tried to slow down a little bit, but we heard the impact. We thought for sure we had killed the bird," she said.
They continued to drive home, only to find a stunning result.
"I looked into the fog light of the bumper, and saw the hawk inside the bumper," said Rebecca Scott, with a wildlife rescue group.
Lara and her husband called several wildlife rescue groups, and Scott got the call and got there the same evening.
"When she actually pulled it out, we didn’t see any blood or anything. It just lodged underneath there. We’re actually looking at it. It was staring at us in the corner," Lara said.
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Peggy Jones, 64, sustained a bloody arm with punctures and lacerations from the July 25 attack,
Cell phone video showed Scott doing a quick assessment.
"Absolutely a miracle. Of the size of the bird, it compares much larger to the size of the hole it flew into. When they are flying, their wings are extended, so how it went from flight to into a fog light is absolutely a miracle, with no injuries at all," Scott explained.
For the past few weeks, the hawk has been under observation for any signs of stress at the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center.
Until Friday afternoon, when it was release day for what they’re calling the "miracle hawk."
"It felt amazing to see the hawk fly away without any injuries," Lara said.
"Just excitement. I love releases. It’s wonderful to see them get back out to the wild," Scott said.