Our Avian Ambassadors

Gracie is a Harris's Hawk who came from a specially licensed breeding program. She was originally trained to hunt in Wisconsin. Being from a desert species,  it was too cold for her to thrive that far north, so she was transferred to our care in Oklahoma.

Harris's Hawks are one of the only birds of prey that hunt cooperatively in the wild, having earned themselves the nickname "wolves of the sky." They are social, resourceful, and even tactical. Due to these characteristics, Gracie loves a challenge! She  excels at chasing things and flying through obstacles.

Hail is a Kriders (Red-Tailed) Hawk who was originally rescued as a juvenile in Florida as he struggled with partial blindness. Because of this, he was transferred to us for long-term care where we discovered the cause of his impairment was a roundworm in his eye.  The worm has been treated but was not removed due to the high risk the surgery would have been to Hail. As a result, he has permanent loss of vision in his eye and no depth perception. Otherwise, he is totally healthy now and enjoys sunning on his outdoor perch.

Sebastian is a Great Horned Owl and is the prime example of what not to do when you find a baby bird. As a small chick, he was "birdnapped" from the wild by a lady who thought he would make a cool pet. Long story short: that did not go well for either her or Sebastian! 

Due to the poor quality of care in his early life, he is noticeably smaller than a typical great horned owl (due to improper nutrition) and did not learn the critical survival skills his parents would have taught him. Improper handling has also lead to him being listed as a "nuisance animal" that would be put down if let loose.

Sebastian has been with us for over a decade now, and we have learned a lot from each other! He is currently the oldest bird in our care.

Another Red-Tailed Hawk, Thor is our little one-in-a-million miracle bird! His story is an example of what you should do if you find a young bird on the ground.

After finding Thor sitting in the yard, the homeowner kept an eye on him from a distance; he never flew away and his parents didn't come to feed him (as is typical for a young bird). After keeping tabs for several hours, the kind lady called for help. See, 80% of Red-Tailed Hawks don't make it to adulthood primarily due to starvation while developing their hunting skills. This was what Thor was experiencing and is why he didn't fly away. 

We took Thor in and fed him, carefully bringing him back up to a healthy weight. We anticipated he would be a good candidate for eventual release. That's where the one-in-a-million statistic comes in. While in our care, we found a lump on his foot that was diagnosed as sarcoma. Thor had a partial amputation and has regular checkups, but he has now officially been declared cancer free!

Zena is the only ambassador at Raptors Keep who is not indigenous to North America. She is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. As the name implies, her species come from the continents of Europe and Asia. She was captive-bred specifically to educate the public. As the second largest species of owl in the world, Eurasian Eagle Owls are feared by many and have been hunted to extinction in parts of their native range. 

Zena helps us show people how incredible her species is, and how important owls are to the  ecosystem.

Vlad is the newest member of our avian ambassador team. Originally from Missouri, Vlad is a Turkey Vulture  that was rescued as a baby after a car strike left him with a permanent wing injury. While he cannot fly very far, Vlad is an incredibly intelligent bird who enjoys exploring and playing with his puzzles and toys.