Turtle turns the tables on hawk looking for meal in Missouri. ‘Heroes in a half shell’
A young hawk found itself in a tricky situation while trying to get itself a little dinner, a Missouri nature center discovered.
Some helpful staff members at the Runge Nature Center in Jefferson City came to the aid of a distressed broad-winged hawk that had managed to get a few of its toes caught — in a turtle.
“Assistant Nature Center Manager Becky Matney discovered a juvenile broad-winged hawk that had several toes caught in the shell of a three-toed box turtle,” the Missouri Department of Conservation said in a Sept. 30 Facebook post.
The situation occurred on Sept. 27, the post said.
It appears that the hawk was in the mood for a turtle dinner.
“Presumably, the young hawk attempted to capture the box turtle for its next meal. The frightened turtle then closed its shell to protect itself, inadvertently trapping the hawk,” the post continued. “Becky and Naturalist Austin Lambert were able to gently pry the turtles shell open just enough to release the hawk.”
Since both animals were unharmed, amused folks popped into the comment section to thank the staff who rescued the duo — and to razz the hawk a little.
”That Hawk’s buddies will never let him live that down,” one person joked.
“Thank you for everything you do!!! Your service to our wildlife is greatly appreciated!” another said.
“A box lunch that went wrong,” someone noted.
“The turtle was neither teenage nor mutant but it turns out he was a ninja,” one person said.
“Heroes in a half shell,” another joked.
Broad-winged hawks are known to eat small mammals, birds and insects, the Missouri Department of Conservation says.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Turtle turns the tables on hawk looking for meal in Missouri. ‘Heroes in a half shell’."