Plato

Name: Because of his scientific name Buteo platypterus; Plato’s name was selected from a "Name the Raptor" contest in the RROKI newsletter, News from the Mews
Date in: 7/5/98
Hatched: Spring 1998
Gender: Male
Age at arrival: Approximately 6 weeks old
Came from: Annville, Kentucky

Story:
A gentleman walking down a rural road found Plato. The young bird was sitting in the middle of the road with blood on his head and in his mouth; we assumed that a car had hit him. Plato had an eye injury, a ruptured right eardrum, and ruptured air sacs that caused his skin to balloon up with pockets of air. The finder insisted he had a baby bald eagle, because Plato still had a downy white head.

One of RROKI’s volunteers made the four hour drive to rescue Plato and performed emergency triage. After his stabilization at RROKI, he was placed in with Chatty, our then 8-year-old Broad Winged Hawk. Chatty became very protective of her young charge, feeding and brooding him like a mother hen.

After further treatment it was determined that Plato was permanently blind in the right eye. This lessened his chance of becoming a successful hunter so he joined RROKI’s educational staff. In the summer of 2001, Plato filled Chatty’s shoes as our Broad-winged foster parent and raised two chicks from West Virginia.