A Tail of Love
As the Managing Director here at HVH and as a member of the LGBTQ community I have written newsletters in the past for pride month acknowledging my gratitude for the support by HVH. I still feel that appreciation and gratitude today and every day. But as we near the end of Pride Month I thought as a falconer and a wildlife rehabilitator it might be fun to share a story that includes a different species other than us humans. After all, love is love!
I am frequently blown away by the capacity of relationships in the wild kingdom, and how their evolution and intelligence often seem to surpass our very own. Some time ago, I cared for a pair of red-tailed hawks and I was pleasantly surprised when one of them laid a clutch of eggs. I watched as she sat on the eggs and the other fed her, protected, and defended her with fervor while waiting for the babies to hatch. The gestation period passed, and it became evident that the eggs were not viable. Eventually, the eggs were removed and the hawks were sex tested and we realized both were female. Clearly, they were in partnership, both with a longing to rear chicks but could not do so due to lack of fertilization. A week or so later the stork delivered a surprise! A red-tailed chick that needed care came in for rehab, so we decided to experiment and see if the two longing mama red-tails would adopt and care for it as their own. And indeed they did! They cared fiercely and lovingly as if it were their own babe.
It left me wondering why as humans, we often don’t accept the inner nature and knowing when it comes to love the way that they do. To ever question why two loving and trustworthy parents should adopt a child (or a chick) because it doesn’t fit into society's model is archaic and, to me, unnatural. It warmed my heart to understand that in nature such a beautiful and simple solution could be embraced without question regardless of color, gender, etc. Imagine what could be possible if our human world could do the same. Imagine.
Hoping everyone had good pride celebrations and let's all remember this is not just a month-long celebration and acknowledgment. We all have work to do every single day when it comes to equality. Thank you for whatever part you play in it this month and every day.
