Hawk diagnosed as ‘too fat’ for gorging on chickens and sleeping all day

This hawk was simply ‘too fat’ to fly, bless her (Picture: Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke) This poor hawk has been given a very direct diagnosis by a wildlife hospital after confusing staff about why she was unable to fly. The reason? She’s fat. The mature red-shouldered hawk was at the heart of a head-scratching mystery at Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center since being found grounded in a driveway about a mile from the facility. Upon arrival, she was checked for what experts called the ‘usual suspects’, but no broken bones, lead toxicity, eye issues, head trauma, emaciation, or bruising from a collision or altercation were found. She was then weighed, with the number on the scales only prompting further questions. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. Taking to Facebook, the animal facility wrote alongside photos of the creature: ‘At over 910g in weight, she was too darn fat to fly! We couldn’t even palpate her keel due to the heavy layer of fat covering it.’ Well, that’s one way of putting it (Picture: Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke) They admitted it is ‘rare for wild animals to become obese without human intervention’, causing them to question whether she was a lost falconry bird, an escaped and illegally kept captive hawk, or a bird being fed by someone else. All of the above were ruled out, so staff asked the finder whether she had any neighbours with free-ranging chickens she could be eating. After a couple of weeks of investigating, the finder called to reveal the truth – her neighbours’ free-roaming chickens had been disappearing at an ‘alarming rate’. ‘Our mystery was very likely solved! This queen was picking off the buffet of easy prey set out before her, eating her fill, and then snoozing in the trees nearby until she was ready to eat again,’ the post read. ‘The chickens were let out in the morning, she ate another, and repeat. ‘After weeks of repeating this feasting and sleeping, it’s no wonder she got too fat to fly!’ Honestly, girl, live your best life. She’d been gorging on a neighbour’s chickens then snoozing it off (Picture: Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke) Responding to the post, social media users were left in hysterics, with Momma Studley joking: ‘2026 and still out here body shaming😂’ ‘The diagnosis Fat has sent me’, said Garrett Corliss. ‘Her face is the face of a raptor who will do this again’, wrote John Teran, as Krista Spaulding Gremos added in solidarity: ‘Girl….I understand!! 🤣’ But while the whole debacle has given us a laugh, the animal experts have said it comes with a ‘sobering reality’. ‘This is a man-made issue, and this could have had a sadder ending if she had been found by a larger predator instead of the finder. Without flight, she is extremely vulnerable,’ they warned. ‘Moral of the story: Don’t feed wildlife… Directly OR indirectly. 🐔😉 Also, covered runs are the way to go for chicken keeping!’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Baby orangutan with ‘magnificent hair’ dies aged just 15 months at UK zoo Arrow MORE: Could beavers hold key to tackling major UK environmental issue? Arrow MORE: RSPCA expert shares 11 tips to keep your dog calm during Bonfire Night fireworks News Updates Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.