SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. – Concern is mounting among wildlife rescuers in the Tampa Bay area as they witness a disturbing trend of wild animals succumbing to rat poison. Recent reports have highlighted the deaths of a bobcat in Safety Harbor and red-shouldered hawks in Sarasota, raising alarm bells within the community.
Rescuers have been working diligently to save these animals, with heartbreaking results. Just this week, a red-shouldered hawk was brought in for treatment in Sarasota after being found poisoned. The telltale signs of rodenticide poisoning in raptors like hawks include the closing of their third eyelid, the nictitating membrane, which becomes visible over their eye.
Experts at organizations like Save our Seabirds and the Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida have been dealing with an influx of birds suffering from rodenticide poisoning. Tragically, a family of hawks, including two chicks, recently perished in Sarasota. While Save Our Seabirds took in the adult male hawk, the Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida cared for the chicks.
The devastation is palpable, with WCSF executive director, Pamela DeFouw, revealing that one chick passed away within 24 hours, while the other initially showed signs of improvement before ultimately succumbing to the poison. The impact goes beyond hawks, as a bobcat was also found dead under suspicious circumstances in Safety Harbor last week, prompting a necropsy by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to determine if rodenticide exposure was the cause.
Rescuers in the area stress the importance of using alternative methods to address rat problems, such as mechanical traps, to prevent further harm to wildlife at the top of the food chain. Making a simple switch in pest control methods can mean the difference between life and death for these majestic predators.