You never know when you’ll find an animal in need of your help. When one man found a drowning hawk, he didn’t hesitate to step up and save its life.
Steven Gonzales works at Truly Nolen Pest Control in Phoenix, Arizona. While his job usually involves ridding critters from homes, one recent job led him to saving a life instead.
While on a routine job to a customer’s house, Steven and his trainee found a Harris’s Hawk drowning in a pool drain.
“I see this hawk, and it’s just gripping, like, something in a pool, like a drain or something,” he told FOX 10. “It’s just, like, holding itself up, so I was, like, OK, what am I going to do?”
The bird was still alive, but clearly struggling and fighting to hold on. “It kind of looked like she was gripping and was trying to keep herself afloat,” he told 12News. “She looked pretty weak cause she was just at an angle.”
Steven knew he had to help, and reached out to the hawk. He didn’t have protective gloves, but thankfully the hawk trusted him. He recalls the hawk was “very weak” but he could still “feel the strength from the talons.”
“I have rescued an owl before, but never a bird this size!” he told People “The hawk let me grab it by the legs, so I lifted it towards my shoulders and it flapped its wings and then rested there, much to my surprise.”
Instead of flying away, the hawk stayed with Steven, perching herself on his arm. He named the “magnificent bird” Lucena, after his own daughter.
He then contacted Wild at Heart, a local bird rescue, who showed up and took the hawk into their care.
However, the new friends will keep in contact: according to People, Steven plans to volunteer with the rescue to help Lucena rehabilitate back into the wild.
“I’ve always been fascinated with birds of prey, and I’m happy to have been able to assist one that doubles as nature’s pest control,” Steven said.
This was definitely one “pest control” job that he’ll never forget! Thank you for going above-and-beyond to save this beautiful hawk!
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