Here are some different facts, incredible and strange… But real!

Joggers attacked in stung by Raptors-Forbach-02/07/2010:

(Continued from 28/05/2010)

Joggers were attacked by Raptors as they ran through the woods around Forbach. On Sunday, a Behrinois was again wounded on the head by a hawk. A rare phenomenon that is explained.

“I have been running for fifteen years in the forest of Spicheren and I have suffered twice a raptor attack,” says Jean-Luc. I was thrown to the ground and my cap fell far ahead of me. The bird arrived quietly from behind and surprised me. Another time, two raptors came and grazed me. I had a lot of trouble getting them away and running away. ” Jean-Luc is not an isolated case. A few weeks ago, a jogger was attacked by a raptor in the wood of the Grosswald, between Folkling and Gaubiving. That day, the bird had returned to the charge five times and the sportsman had protected himself by twirling a stick around him…

“Bloody head”

This unusual story would therefore not be exceptional. Several testimonies have come to us, including, on Monday, that of a resident of Behren-lès-Forbach. Her husband came home from jogging Sunday morning, “with a bloody head. My husband was running between Grosbliederstroff and Behren when he was attacked by a hawk, she says. He was not wearing a cap and the animal scratched his head and forehead. He was bleeding a lot! He felt like he was getting a big stick on his head, it was very impressive. He was afraid, especially as the bird came back twice on him. ” On Monday, the Behrinois consulted his doctor. “I sanitized the wounds but he took his tetanus shot, again” concluded his wife.

Like in “Bird”

Avian mishap also for Isabelle. This inhabitant of Petite-Rosselle remembers being surprised by a hawk while she was running in the forest behind Emersweiller. The bird flew by a few inches from her several times. “Finally, it scratched the top of my head with his claws and then landed on a tree. I found myself like in “the Birds”, the Hitchcock film. I grabbed a stick and I kept an eye on the bird while I was getting away. It did not start again.”

“Raptors have not mutated”

So, would the Raptors have become aggressive towards men?
“These attacks remain rare phenomena that often occur when you run, the bird takes you for a prey. No doubt it also feels threatened, especially during a breeding season, explains Gérard Joannès. This retired professor has been passionate about ornithology for almost forty-five years. Member of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) and the ornithological centre of Lorraine, this Forbachois is reassuring: “They have not mutated. The birds have not become more aggressive, but they are now more in contact with the townspeople. Forests are increasingly crowded… ”
The specialist denounces the rampant urbanization, the fragmentation of forests, the disappearance of Groves. “There’s less and less room for birds. As their natural environment shrinks, they nest closer to the cities. It’s exactly the same phenomenon with foxes and wild boars, which come to our gardens. “

Josette BRIOT

Source: Journal of the Republican Lorrain of Forbach

Jogger attacked by a raptor – Folkling – 28/05/2010:

A Forbachois who ran between Folkling and Gaubiving was attacked by a raptor on Wednesday at the end of the afternoon.
In the Wood “Grosswald”, the jogger suddenly felt a shock to the head and its cap was thrown several meters. It was at the second attack that the man saw the bird, probably a hawk, rushing on him and passing a few decimetres from his skull.
The animal returned three more times to attack, darting each time from the top of a tree and remaining out of reach of the stick that the victim was twirling, both frightened and fascinated by this bird guerrilla warfare that stopped at the edge of the forest.
If you have experienced such a confrontation, you can join the newspaper: Redaction. Forbach @republicain-lorrain.fr

Source: Journal of the Republican Lorrain of Forbach

Falcon shot, the perpetrator arrested -Tenteling – 22/05/2010:

On 25 April, residents of Tenteling reported to the gendarmerie of the Behren-lès-Forbach Brigade that a Kestrel Hawk had been shot down Rue du Grauberg, in the village. The security forces collected the evidence and opened an investigation.
The investigation bore fruit: On Monday 17 May, the alleged perpetrator was arrested and heard at the Behren-lès-Forbach Brigade.
The villager admitted firing with his rifle 22 long rifle, on the Kestrel Falcon, killing the animal counted among the protected species by three conventions: those of Washington, Bonn and Bern.
This villager said he shot the hawk fearing he would attack his chickens. The perpetrator will respond later to the Sarreguemines Correctional Tribunal.

Source: Journal of the Republican Lorrain of Forbach

Read also an article on falconry and native american legends.