UDM's Newest Althete
Here is our newest little athlete named Titan by Mary Lou Caspers, Cmdr. Joel Gallihugh and Jim Orlando.
Here is our little guy's story: He came down out of the nest a little early probably on Saturday (6-7-08) because there was reports of him hanging around the Student Center.
According to Kariann Anderson, the Michigan DNR Falcon Coordinator, Titan is almost ready to fly. He's probably 40-45 days old. While being guarded, Titan was observed flying horizontally on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, he cannot fly up and back to the clock tower as of yet.
The DNR took him in to feed him since he hasn't eaten in about three days, which is critical. Falcons only eat other birds that are captured in flight. Since he was at ground level, he was unable to feed himself and the parents will not come to the ground to feed it, only a rooftop.
The DNR has a professional falconer on staff who will work with Titan for about a week to strengthen its wing muscles. Once he is ready to fly, they will bring him back and release him, either on one of our building roofs or by letting it fly up on its own. Since falcon families are very close while the young are still in the nest, the parents will probably accept him back until its time to send him on his way as a young adult.
We hope to have the news media available when Titan is ready to fly back home. Here are some more pictures of his capture and banding. Enjoy.
Print-friendly