Educational Ambassador: Carolina
Red-tailed Hawk
(Buteo jamaicensis)
Carolina's Personal History
Species: Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Family: Accipitridae
Age: Hatched in 2017
Sex: Female
Weight: 1650 g (~3.6 pounds)
Location and time found: North Carolina in August 2017
Injury: Neurological damage most likely due to West Nile Virus. Blind in the left eye.
History: Carolina was found on the side of the road starving and emaciated as a hatching in Hillsborough, NC. Carolina Raptor Center determined her to be blind in the left eye and deemed her non-releasable because she would not be able to successfully hunt on her own. She was transferred to Osprey Wilds in December 2017 to be an educational ambassador. During an annual exam, it was noticed that she turns and holds her head in an abnormal way. This is usually indicates a previous West Nile Virus infection. It is hypothesized that her left eye blindness along with some neurological damage was caused by the body’s immune response to fight off the virus. Currently, there is no way to test for sure if she had the virus.
