BETHESDA

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Maryland DNR Rules Out Poisoning;

Missing Talons Raise Questions

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

Maryland's Department of Natural Resources has completed testing on one of two deceased Cooper's hawks found by the Bethesda Pool on Little Falls Parkway.

The deaths were considered suspicious, but the DNR's investigation results have failed to end the suspense: Who or what dunnit?

Poison was ruled out by laboratory testing; the DNR lists "debilitation" as the official cause of death.

But now, the plot thickens.

The DNR reports that the hawk was "missing talons, which limited its ability to capture prey." End of story, apparently, for the state agency.

But not for Ace Ventura, Pet Detective!

The DNR's explanation is that the hawk couldn't feed himself and died in a debilitated state. Okay, but what about the second hawk? How do you explain two dead hawks, in the same location, with no apparent external injuries? Was the other one depending on the first to capture prey? And how does a predator with no enemies in Bethesda lose several talons?

All of these questions simply heighten the suspense. The hawk case is far from closed.

The Case of the Missing Talons.

It's known that hawks, while fierce predators, can also die instantly of fright. But that doesn't make their talons disappear.

Hawks are also commonly victims of parasites, and the diseases those parasites can spread. Talon loss is not a symptom or result listed by any source I've found on hawk ailments. Trichinella pseudospriralis-related infections "are known to cause severe debilitation and death in Cooper's hawks," according to the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. But not known to cause talon loss.

Perhaps it could be argued that he died of an infection, and that the missing talons were unrelated. But the DNR claims he died precisely because his talons were missing.

Having exhausted all resources, I contacted the Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene, Oregon.

Executive Director Louise Shimmel said some aspects of the Bethesda hawk deaths are fairly common: 60% of juvenile hawks die during their first winter, and emaciation is not unusual among them.

But the fact that the tested hawk was missing talons "is definitely unusual," Shimmel said. Captured rodent prey could have fought back, but it would be nearly impossible to have injured more than one talon, she noted. And snapping traps aren't baited with anything hawks would want. Ultimately, Shimmel said there is no good explanation for the missing talons. "It's not that easy to lose a talon."

We have a real mystery on our hands here, ladies and gentlemen.

Whodunnit? Whatdunnit?

This could be Ace Ventura's toughest case yet. Stay tuned for future updates as we try to solve this mysterious and baffling puzzle.