BRIAN HEAD, Iron County (AP) — A hawk that was nursed back to health after being found nearly dead in the desert has been released back into the wild.

Martin Tyner of the Southwest Wildlife Foundation in Cedar City says the ferruginous hawk has a healthy population in southern Utah, but this bird had been orphaned and was struggling to survive on its own.

View Comments

Tyner says the hawk was suffering from malnutrition when he adopted it two months ago. He says he fed the bird smaller prey such as pigeons while housing it in a rehabilitation pen during its recovery.

Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.