Can you imagine what would happen if you were rescued by another species in no way related to your own species, and being reared by that species?
Of course a highly unlikely event in us humans, but a strange thing called imprinting takes place when a raptor or other birds are rescued and reared by a human.
It merely takes 3-4 days for an injured young raptor to become attached to that one person and something really strange and very sad happens, as they identify with humans for life and see themselves as a human.
This does not mean that they will be friendly towards other humans and not harm them; they can actually be very aggressive to other humans.
Young raptors who are rescued actually see the person who reared them as their mate!
Raptors who have imprinted with humans will never be able to interact with their own species; what a lonely life that must be!
Sadly it cannot be avoided at times, as in the case of Becky, a Fish Eagle who was rescued by the falconers of Falcon Ridge Bird of Prey Centre in the Drakensberg after her wing was damaged after being shot.
This centre rehabilitates many different species of injured raptors. Here Becky is with her 'mate'!
I could not resist sharing these two stunning paintings that are displayed at The Valley Bakery which we visited while in the Drakensberg.
We visit this centre each time we take a breakaway to the central Drakensberg region and learn something new each time; this is a show I will not miss for anything!
Many wild raptors come along circling the sky above our heads, some swooping down hoping to snatch some of the tidbits that are given to the raptors on show.
We also learned how raptors were trained to be used as weapons before bows and arrows were made as this was the only way the people could hunt for meat, using the hunters of the sky!
Most raptors can see eight times as far as humans, but the eagle has the best eyesight and are able to see even small prey over 3 kilometres away; this is where the phrase watching like a hawk or having eagle eyes originates.
Raptors further have what is called binocular vision, with both eyes having the ability to zoom into their prey from a long distance. Their eye placement as well as their ability to turn their heads in circular motions and bob their heads from side to side helps them calculate how close or how far their prey is.!
Unfortunately, most of the injured and rehabilitated raptors cannot be released into the wild again, as they would not survive, although some of these birds of prey do go back into the wild and never return.
How are these raptors injured?
Mostly by humans who shoot them for various reasons - many do it for Muti used by witch-doctors who pay a handsome price for parts of these raptors' bodies, similarly with Rhino and other wildlife who are killed for their horns and other bodily parts, which all fetch a handsome price on the black market!
Sadly farmers who lose young livestock are also guilty of shooting raptors.
It is really amazing that these warriors of the sky can even pick up a young buck.
There was one Cape vulture whose one leg was broken/ fractured and is in plaster, but it can still catch small prey with its one claw!
During the bird show, the falconers' dog kept on interrupting the show, but as soon as the owl was released from his enclosure to take centre-stage and afterward show us how silently it flies, this dog ran to the kiosk to hide away.
The reason that he fears the owl is because of a scary incident when he was still a little pup. The owl managed to pick him up with its claws which apparently lock as soon as it bends its legs so he flew away with the pup but suddenly dropped him like a hot potato. The dog has never forgotten that scary 'flight' and still is terrified of the owl!
The owl, by the way, is the only raptor here who knows its name.
Another interesting tidbit we learned was the reason owls are associated with death.
They of course are more active at night so when people became ill a couple of centuries ago, by the time the doctor arrived at nightfall, it would often be too late with the patient already dead.
The doctors would often see owls at night, so the myth grew that seeing an owl, represented death, as the people were very superstitious back then!
So do not be afraid when you hear an owl hoot at night; all it is doing is hunting for prey!
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