COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A red-tailed hawk has decided that a local community is where it belongs — people and pets be damned.
According to CBS46, Hazel Morgan said, “It actually sunk its claws in my head,” as she recalled a red-tailed hawk walking down her street, and being viciously attacked. “I had blood running down my face, a big scratch and a hole right in my head, and it just missed my eye.”
Morgan is just one of several victims of the hawk’s aggression.
“Feels like a baseball bat hitting you from behind,” Aaron Croker told the news station. He had been attacked by the hawk while taking out the trash. “It caused a lady down the street to get 180 stitches in her head.”
Local residents say the hawk has killed at least a pair of dogs and attacked a little girl. Smaller animals are also prey for the hawk.
“We watched the hawk, and…it stands about 2.5 ft. when on the ground standing, and it was tearing apart a chipmunk,” said Gail Reister.
According to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, hawks can get aggressive in nesting season as a way to protect their babies.
Officials recommend staying clear of areas where they are nesting, but with the tall pines surrounding the North Village subdivision, there is little they can do to avoid the area.
“When you open the door and come out in the yard, unless you’re under a tree, you’re constantly looking to see where that hawk is because it does swoop around all the time,” said Morgan.
The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service recommend removing the nest once it has been abandoned, but they say there’s no guarantee the hawk won’t come back the next year.