Goodbye Cisco. Legendary Harris's hawk, a senior member of our ambassador animal team, has passed away.
Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Cisco was a much-loved member of our zoo family. A legendary raptor at Woodland Park Zoo, a 36-year-old Harris’s hawk named Cisco, has passed away. Harris’s hawks can live up to 20 to 25 years in human care and 10 to 12 years in the wild. Due to Cisco’s advanced age, the raptor keepers had been closely monitoring the hawk over the last couple of years through daily observations of his health and quality of life. As an exceptionally elderly hawk, Cisco was under treatment for age-related issues, like most geriatric animals and humans. “Because of arthritis, cataracts, declining body condition, and loss of vision in the right eye due to retinal degeneration, Cisco was no longer able to take part in free flights at the zoo; however, he was still being exercised and socialized regularly,” said Dr. Misty Garcia, associate veterinarian at Woodland Park Zoo. Cisco had been on a prescribed program of jo...