A red-tailed hawk’s 12-hour-long entanglement in protective netting along a Newton golf course came to an end on Wednesday thanks to the intervention of the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) and the Newton Fire Department.
The hawk got stuck about 50 feet off the ground after entangling itself in the netting, according to ARL in a news release. ARL and the Newton Fire Department responded to the Woodland Golf Club midday on Wednesday.
Newton Fire brought in a ladder truck and, after some assessment, a firefighter walked behind an ARL agent up the ladder, ARL said and video showed.
The pair was able to free the hawk and place the bird into a carrier, ARL added, thanking the Newton Fire Department for “expediting a speedy rescue, increasing safety of all personnel on-scene and helping lessen the stress on the hawk.”
Watch a video of the hawk’s rescue below or by clicking here in footage provided courtesy of ARL.
ARL said despite the hawk being trapped in the netting for about half a day, it appeared uninjured and was taken to a wildlife rehabilitation hospital as a precaution.
ARL, founded in 1899, provides veterinary care, adoption, and rescue services, while also confronting the root causes of animal cruelty and neglect through community programs, police investigations and public advocacy. In 2023, ARL served 20,964 animals throughout Massachusetts.
