CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- It was sunny at 11:00 on January 11 in Dongsheng Village, Bolin Town, Jiangjin District. A buzzard hawk (also called the buteo), which is the second-level protected wild animal in China, cautiously looked out from the delivery box and then soared into the sky. This moment was recorded by Sun Zhi with his camera, and his daughter Sun Yi wistfully gazed after the receding figure of the buzzard hawk.

A father saved injured animals together with his daughter

The common buzzard hawks are birds of prey that love soaring in the air and are good at diving down to catch their prey.

Sun Zhi is the head of the youth program at the Secretariat of China’s Bird Collision Prevention Network. At noon on December 23, 2023, he was informed by a volunteer that a bird had hit the glass on the second floor of a residential building in Yubei District.

Upon hearing the news, Sun Yi immediately stopped her dance practice at home and went with her father to see what happened. Sun Yi has participated in the volunteer patrol for Bird Collision Prevention since she was three years old.

Sun Zhi recognized the injured bird as the common buzzard hawk, which is a second-level protected wild animal in China. The injured hawk fell to the ground and lost consciousness, with blood on the corner of its mouth.

After a short while, the common buzzard hawk stood up slowly and unsteadily and then fell to the ground again with a stress response.

Seeing that the condition of the hawk was not good, Sun Zhi squirted a small amount of water into its mouth with a syringe and then moved it to a dark and quiet room.

Before long, the buzzard hawk gradually quieted down, and Sun Zhi planned to place it in a box.

Sun Yi helped cover the eyes of the buzzard hawk when her father managed to place it in a box. She also took off her coat and covered it on the box so the hawk would not be frantic.

When the injured bird was handed over to the experts at the zoo, Sun Zhi and Sun Yi felt relieved.

After half a month of nursing, the common buzzard hawk regained its health and will be released into the wild after an evaluation.

Knowing that the rescued hawk would be released into the wild, Sun Zhi and Sun Yi came to witness the moment on January 11.

The family took turns to take care of the flightless eagle

A steppe eagle, a first-level protected wildlife in China, was released back into the wild at the same time.

Early in the morning of December 21, 2023, Yan Junxue, a villager in Dongsheng Village, Bolin Town, Jiangjin District, found an animal in the ditch of a power station near his home, he thought was an eagle.

It was standing still there. When I picked it up, it didn't try to pull away from me, said Yan Junxue.

“Our family took turns to look after it in those two days, fearing something else might happen to it." Yan Junxue had thought it would fly away, but it could not fly at all. "I made repeated observations of it and thought it might be injured.”

Experts of Jiangjin Forestry Bureau recognized that this eagle-like wildlife was the steppe eagle, and they transferred it to the Wildlife Rescue Center of Chongqing Zoo for professional assistance.

They treated the injured area of the hawk and fed it with beef, chicken, mice, and other food. After half a month of care and recuperation, the injured steppe eagle is physically and mentally in good condition and able to hunt for food and carry out other activities. It has weighed up to 2.01 kilograms and will be released into the wild after being assessed, said Zhou Jun, the head of Chongqing Zoo Wildlife Reception and Rescue Center.

Four birds of prey were released by the rescue center on January 11, with the steppe eagle being the last to be released. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)