Dr. Letitia Reichart
Biology, 308.865.8568 OR reichartlm@unk.edu
A Raptor Recovery Nebraska presentation Thursday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will feature five live birds.
The one-hour program, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Copeland Hall Room 142, is being sponsored by the UNK Biology Club. The event is free and open to the public; however, free will donations will be accepted.
In addition to recovering and rehabilitating Nebraska birds of prey, Raptor Recovery Nebraska regularly provides educational programs. The Thursday presentation is described as being “…interactive, and a fun and educational opportunity for children and
adults of all ages.”
At Raptor Recovery Nebraska, injured and orphaned raptors receive medical treatment and care, and those that are restored to health are banded and released. Birds that are too damaged to be released back into the wild are channeled into breeding programs, recruited as “foster parents” for young orphans, utilized in research and featured in educational programs.
The Raptor Recovery Center was organized in 1976 as a project of the Wachiska Audubon Society of Lincoln. Since inception, more than 6,000 birds of prey have been recovered, and more than 50 percent of those have been released back to the wild. This percentage of birds released is one of the highest in the nation.
In 2000, the center became Raptor Recovery Nebraska, an educational nonprofit organization, and the only group in the State of Nebraska permitted by the state and federal government to rehabilitate orphaned or injured raptors. The all-volunteer organization works with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and animal control agencies to respond to reports of injured or orphaned raptors throughout the state.
