A crested goshawk, an endangered species in Taiwan, nearly became a stuffed ornament for the owner of a chicken farm on Baguashan (八卦山) in Changhua when it swooped to nab itself a young chick to snack on.
Luckily for the goshawk and the chicken farmer, who would have faced fines for killing an endangered species, Kuaiguan Borough (快官) Development Association director Chang Hsin-chin (張信欽) stopped the farmer from killing the raptor.
The farmer said he caught the crested goshawk on Saturday last week, red-beaked in the act of snacking on a chick it had killed, adding that he had caught it with a net and was intending to turn it into a stuffed bird.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
The farmer said that, upon learning of the penalties for killing an endangered species, he had asked Chang to handle the matter, adding that he turned over both the dead chick and the crested goshawk.
Chang drove the crested goshawk and the chick to Changhua City Councilor Lin Shih-hsien’s (林世賢) clinic, where the crested goshawk was found to be in good health.
Lin suggested that Chang release the raptor into the wild after its wounds healed, adding that, in the meantime, Chang could take it to local junior-high and elementary schools to teach children about the species.
The crested goshawk is an often-seen sight in the Baguashan area and lives mostly off mice and wild snakes, Lin said, adding that it is concerning that crested goshawks are now being seen in human establishments.
The incident suggests the crested goshawk’s habitat is changing, probably due to human interference, such as overdevelopment and the use of pesticides that are affecting the food chain, Lin said.
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