MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The Carolina Raptor Center posted on their Instagram this morning expressing their need for fish to feed the multiple ospreys and eagles currently in their care.
The center is asking for whole fish that are three to 12 inches long and have not been frozen for more than three months. Any fish will be accepted except for catfish due to the toxins that they can potentially carry.
“We like to be able to feed our fish whole, we’d like them to look as natural as possible,” said Sonny Cooper, the hospital manager at the Carolina Raptor Center. Including fish in the birds’ diets help to increase their nutrients and the variety of foods that they eat.
According to Cooper, most of the fish that they receive are donated from local fishermen around the Lake Norman and Mountain Lake areas. This is because the vendors that the center primarily sources their food from do not provide fish.
The birds that are currently in rehabilitation at the center are not able to capture their own food. However, it is the goal to eventually release them into the wild so they can hunt again.
According to their Instagram post, donations can be brought directly to the hospital any day of the week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They ask that anyone coming to the hospital calls ahead of time at 704-875-6521 and uses extension 125.
For those who don’t fish but are still wanting to help, monetary donations are being accepted on their website. Cooper said that food costs are one of the center's biggest expenses and they continue to rise.
“We really appreciate anybody who can come out and bring fish or donate in any way to continue to help continue to care for the patients here,” Cooper said.
The Carolina Raptor Center is a non-profit organization in Mecklenburg County that provides the rehabilitation of birds of prey in their Raptor Hospital. They also have a walking trail and zoological facility that houses and displays more than 30 birds of prey for the public to come and enjoy.