Feb. 11 (UPI) — An animal rescuer was summoned to a subway station in New York to capture a hawk that had flown into the facility and was unable to find its way out.
Paul Flores, a station agent at the Westchester Square-East Tremont Avenue subway station in the Bronx, said the Cooper’s hawk appeared to be having trouble finding its way out of the facility after apparently chasing a pigeon or smaller bird into the station.
“It had to be in some sort of distress and just tired of flying back and forth and it needed help just getting out of the station and it would be alright after that,” Flores told WABC-TV.
Flores said the hawk was inside the station for multiple days. He contacted the Audubon Society, which connected him with Bobby Horvath, a retired firefighter who works with Wildlife in Need.
Horvath brought an 18-foot net to the station and was able to ensnare the bird of prey.
“He was exhausted and he had a slight tumble, so I was able to net him on a step,” Horvath said.
The rescuer said the hawk was returned to the wild Thursday afternoon at Pelham Bay Park.