Bird of prey attacks runner, elementary school student in Transcona
Cooper's hawk likely protecting young, researcher says
William Andrushko was out for a run in his Transcona neighbourhood when suddenly he felt something grab his hair.
Not knowing what it was, he swatted at it with his water bottle and was startled to see a large bird fly up into a tree.
Then the bird swooped down for another attack.
"When it came back at me, I didn't want to try fighting it off again, so I just ran as fast as I could," Andrushko said.
Andrushko, whose close encounter with the hawk happened around 11 a.m. on June 2, isn't the only person who's been attacked by the hawk nesting on Ravelston Avenue E., near Rosseau Avenue E.
A student at Wayoata Elementary School was scratched by the hawk and taken to the doctor by a parent as a precaution, a spokesperson for the River East Transcona School Division said in an email statement.
"This is the only student that we are aware of that has had any interaction with the hawk," the email said.
The school sent a letter home to parents, warning them about the hawk and advising them to find an alternative route if they regularly walk on that block of Ravelston, after a neighbour alerted them about the hawk. The school removed patrols from the area of Ravelston and Rosseau until further notice.
The school division also has reached out to wildlife conservation officials and told them about the nesting hawk.
'Not unusual behaviour'
Justine Josephson-Laidlaw, a master's student at the University of Manitoba who researches birds of prey, went to the area Tuesday morning to check out the hawk, which she said is a Cooper's hawk, a species that commonly lives in urban areas.
Birds of prey don't typically dive bomb people in urban areas because they are accustomed to humans, and the hawk is likely acting aggressively because it is protecting its young, Josephson-Laidlaw said.
"It's not unusual behaviour, but I don't think that it's anything that anyone needs to be alarmed by," she said.
Andrushko worries that the bird will keep attacking people and thinks something should be done to get rid of the hawk.
"If there's a cat or a small dog, that bird could easily pick it up," he said.
The likelihood of the hawk causing serious injury to anyone is low, Josephson-Laidlaw said.
"Lots of people have merlins and Cooper's hawks nesting by them right now that haven't had any experiences like that. They shouldn't be alarmed and they shouldn't be hiding their animals or not letting their kids outside."
