Raptor tags along for free ride on California car, caught on video
You've probably heard stories where people get into the wrong car thinking it's their rideshare pickup, but this video from Los Angeles takes things to a whole new level.
Driver Rebecca Hobbs and her passenger Staci Eddy found themselves playing Uber to a red-tailed hawk last week, after the bird landed on the hood of their car amid downtown traffic and refused to leave.
The incredible footage shows the unlikely trio navigating the streets of L.A. Both human and avian passengers seem pretty confused about what was going on.
Some commenters on the video said the bird appears to be very young, perhaps just on its first few days out of the nest, and "still learning what life's about", which might explain how it came to find itself in this predicament.
"He's staring into our souls."
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Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Hobbs and Eddy reported that the bird eventually flew away and seemed uninjured, though perhaps with a few feathers ruffled by the incident.
So what do you do if this happens to you?
A representative from the California-based West County Hawk Watch suggested that the best course of action would be to pull over and allow the bird to fly away on its own, preferably away from traffic. "A lot of traffic, trucks or buses or other cars, can hit it as it [flies] low at initial flight launch."
Red-tailed hawks are found throughout most of North America as well as much of Central America. They have protected status in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Sources: Youtube | West County Hawk Watch | Canadian Raptor Conservancy |
