Louisiana veterinary students release tropical raptor back into the wild

Ozzie the crested caracara perches on the arm of LSU veterinary student and Raptor Rehab Team member Patrik Rollefson. Team members nursed the bird to health after he was found injured at a Lake Charles parking lot. Photo courtesy LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

LSU veterinarians successfully rehabilitated an injured bird that isn’t frequently found in much of Louisiana — a crested caracara — and released it back into the wild Thursday.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries rescued the injured bird from a parking lot in Lake Charles and brought it to LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Hospital on Dec. 22, 2022.

The bird, nicknamed “Ozzie,” had suffered a bone fracture. Vet staff placed her on cage rest and gave her pain medications and integrative medicine therapies while the bone healed on its own.

The LSU Raptor Rehab Team then took over Ozzie’s care but was unsure if she would be able to fly again. So they trained the bird to be one of LSU Vet Med’s resident educational raptors.

However, after several months of care, Ozzie decided she wanted to fly again and made great strides with her flight training and exercise.

The vet staff released Ozzie back into the wild at a lake near where she was found.

Native to the tropics, the crested caracara is a large, handsome raptor that sometimes forays into Texas and western Louisiana but is not a frequent visitor. It is also a national symbol of Mexico.

LSU’s Wildlife Hospital receives approximately 1,200 injured animals each year and has an approximate release rate of 73% for treatable cases.

In some cases, the wildlife team can repair or heal the underlying health issue, but the raptor is not able to be released because it would not be able to survive on its own. Those raptors sometimes become part of the LSU Vet Med family as resident educational raptors.

Veterinary students on the Raptor Rehab Team work with and care for the birds and help educate the public about the importance of wildlife conservation by giving presentations with the birds at schools and libraries.

Organizations can request a presentation by contacting [email protected]

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