The timing of this is pretty good. Didn't we recently have a spurt of
posts on the alleged eagle-eats-the-chihuahua story, with variants
including hawks, owls, etc.? I remember reading about the Valdez, AK
story in the Seattle Times. This definitely smells like urban legend,
though. If true they are definitely interesting stories, but the same
theme over and over (it's always a Chihuahua) lends credence to their
status as modern myths. I personally find them amusing, but I suppose
somebody could get paranoid and start raptor-control programs to save
Chihuahuas...

-------------
Michael R. Smith
Univ. of Washington, Seattle
whimbrel at u.washington.edu
http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike.html

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 17:59:19 -0800
From: Noel Wamer <nwamer at FREENET.SCRI.FSU.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list BIRDCHAT <BIRDCHAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
Subject: Red-tails & Chihauhaus

A piece in yesterday's Orlando Sentinel reports an apparent series of
incidents involving Red-tailed Hawk(s) attacking chichuahuas in
Pensacola, including one fatal attack where the owner returned home to
find a hawk feeding on the remains of Cookie. The other two which were
attacked, Katie and Bonnie, were treated and released from a local vet's
office.

We have a large influx of wintering Red-tails into the urban area of
Tallahassee. I had always hoped that they might be interested in the
cats roaming the neighborhood, but have only seen them taking Rock Doves
at my feeders. But then again, never seen a chichuahua in the hood.

(Scientific names in order of apperance: Buteo jaimacensis, Canus
domesticus var. pseudorattus, Columbia livia.)

Cheers,
--
Noel Wamer
Tallahassee, FL, USA
nwamer at freenet.scri.fsu.edu