With deep sadness, we say goodbye to one of Humboldt Wildlife Care Center’s most famous captive raptors, the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) we called Carson. Carson served as a “wildlife ambassador” on our education team for more than 12 years. His time with us ended over Thanksgiving weekend, when he was found deceased in his enclosure where he was cared for daily.
The cause of death has yet to be determined, but it’s rare for a captive Peregrine Falcon to live more than 20 years. First admitted as young bird in early 2005, he was no more than two years old. Suffering a fractured femur after having likely been hit by a car, surgery was performed but the bone healed poorly preventing his release.
For many wild animals (over a million animals in the US each year) life ends with being hit by a vehicle. Collisions with cars and trucks account for a huge percentage of Peregrine Falcon fatalities. One study (Barclay and Cade 1983, Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group unpubl.) found that 11% of fatalities in mid-western populations were caused by vehicle collisions.
In the second half of the twentieth century Peregrine Falcons suffered dramatic losses due to widespread use of injurious pesticides (such as DDT) that interfered with reproduction and egg integrity. In fact, Carson was named for Rachel Carson, whose groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, helped fuel the groundswell of public concern over the impact of these toxins in our environment. In 1970, Peregrine Falcons were granted greater federal protection, and when the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, Peregrine Falcons were among the first put on the endangered species list (listed, we say). Banning DDT in the United States in 1972, combined with captive breeding and release programs, gave the species what it needed for recovery. In 1999, Peregrine Falcons were taken of the list of endangered species.
In his life as an “education bird”, Carson was introduced to hundreds of kids and adults throughout the Humboldt region, accompanied by our human education team and a message of conservation. Carson has been painted and photographed many times, and displayed annually at Godwit Days, our local Spring birding festival. In his way, he was a Humboldt celebrity. 
Carson the Peregrine Falcon with long time education team leader, Merry Maloney, who preceded Carson in death by four years. Both Carson and Merry remain in our hearts.
A life of captivity did not dampen the Falcon’s “implacable arrogance”, as California poet Robinson Jeffers described the wild gaze of the raptor…
In his life as Carson, this Peregrine Falcon touched hundreds of human lives – something that would have never happened without initially being hit by a car. We honor the sacrifice he made as well as the work our education team has done in the name of co-existing with the wild.
We’re grateful for the work of Carson, and all the members of our education team, avian and human, did to promote conservation and love for the wild. Carson’s life came to an end just as HWCC/bax embarks on a new education program, with a heightened awareness of the stress and threats to well-being that captivity poses to wild animals. While humane ethics demand that we discontinue use of live animals in our educational efforts, the work done by our team is acknowledged and appreciated. We look forward to building on that effort, keeping the memory of Carson and all those wild neighbors whose lives were re-directed into captivity by an unfortunate event in our hearts. Your support for our work, and for our staff, especially those who worked closely with Carson and are grieving his loss, is appreciated more than we can ever say. Thank you.
