08 December, 2007
Linda Grounds Out in Panama
I received a telephone call from Panama on Wednesday night informing me that Linda had been seen "falling out of the sky" and onto a road in front of a tavern in the town of Pedasi on the Aguero Peninsula of Panama.
She was alive and had been taken to a large animal veterinarian who was keeping her quiet and feeding her. The reports on the cause(s) of her coming to ground were inconclusive.
I contacted Guido Berguido, one of our new friends in Panama (he is the owner of Advantage Tours Panama, a famous bird tour company,
www.advantagepanama.com), and let him know about the falcon. She is currently located about 5 hours north of Panama City and Guido will get her as soon as possible. We hope to place her into the hands of a falcon specialist, and assess what has happened to her.
Obviously, this ends her migration for the season but her future remains to be seen. We are all hoping that she will make it through the next few days.
And a special thanks to Guido and the other people who took her in. There are alot of people out there that very much appreciate what you are doing for Linda.
10 December, 2007
The End of Linda's Migration and Life
We are sorry to have to report the death of Linda yesterday. She died in captivity under the expert care of an experienced falcon handler in Panama City.
Although we can never be certain exactly what happened to her, we do know that she was found incapacitated a few feet off a road five hours west of Panama City. She was unable to stand and during her last days and she never regained the use of her legs. Examination of her transmitter showed two major impact "chips" on the top surface of the unit indicating a possible collision. We are having her x-rayed to see if there were any fractures involved.
She was a remarkable peregrine and taught all of us many things since last February. She showed us that migrants can roost near 16,000 in the Andes and cover 580 miles in a single day. We never knew any of that before. She amazed us all with her strength, her innate sense of navigation and her beauty.
We also learned that satellite telemetry is a two-edged sword. We can stand amazed and delighted at what it teaches us but it is also a reminder that what we love will pass. Peregrines have a finite life span and so do we. So maybe Linda's last "lesson" is to enjoy it all while you can.
I can't believe it's been 2 years already, seems like yesterday we were tracking her.
