Are Hawks Becoming the New Urban Predators in Rio?

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In Rio de Janeiro's Ipanema beach district, residents are facing unusual aggression from hawks, with over 100 reported attacks in the past year. These incidents involve hawks scratching individuals on the head and face, leading some residents to carry umbrellas for protection. Reports highlight severe injuries, including one woman who lost part of her scalp and a man who confused an attack for gunfire. The situation has raised concerns about the hawks' behavior, prompting discussions about their potential threat to public safety. The phenomenon has drawn comparisons to Alfred Hitchcock's themes of nature turning against humans, suggesting a growing unease about wildlife interactions in urban settings.
Rach3
:eek:

Hawks attack more than 100 people in Rio


RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Residents of crime-plagued Rio de Janeiro have a new kind of predator to worry about — hawks. A pair of hawks have attacked more than 100 residents of the upscale Ipanema beach district over the past year, scratching peoples heads and faces, doormen working at buildings in the area said Monday.

"People leave the building carrying umbrellas to protect themselves from the attacks," said Luis Honorato, a doorman in a building near where the hawks have built a nest. "At first, they think that someone is throwing something, like a can, onto their heads from the floors above."
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The O Globo newspaper reported that one woman lost part of her scalp to a hawk and another man mistook an attack for a stray bullet.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_fe_st/brazil_hawk_attacks
 
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I was looking out the kitchen window yesterday when a hawk or large owl took off from behind some trees on the left side of the property and flew quickly up into the trees on the right side. By the time I got out there it was gone. I think it may have had a rabbit (of which we have a lot these days).

It was most likely a red-tailed hawk (plenty in the area) or a great-horned owl. It move so fast I didn't get a good look at the head, but wing movement was more like an owl. I was also trying to see what it was carrying.
 
We have LOTS of hawks around here, so I hope only the Brazilian ones have gone berzerk. They are very large, powerful birds.
 
As per Hitchcock: This is just the beginning.
 

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