“The patient is 1-year-old and 2 1/2 pounds. She presents with a broken ulna, suffered when hit by a car on Highway 101 late last month,” wrote The VC Star on Thursday, Feb. 4. “Her spirit, however, remains intact.”
The newspaper was describing the one-year-old female red tailed hawk that broke her wing last week after being hit by a car on the Ventura (101) Freeway. She was rescued by Ventura County Animal Services after a Good Samaritan called in to report seeing her on the side of the road. Online video shows Animal Control Officer Eric Lozano netted her after shutting down the highway’s northbound lanes with the help of California Highway Patrol.
The hawk was named “Crazypants” by Kimberly Stroud, the director of the Ojai Raptor Center, due to her aggressive behavior. The Raptor Center has a caution sign on her door and only staff, not volunteers, can care for her because of safety concerns, according to Stroud.
The VC Star reported that Crazypants has been prescribed three weeks of cage rest with a wing wrap, along with medications to fend off pain, parasitic infection and lice infestation.
