Spacemonkey said:
That's a gorgeous hawk you have there! Excuse my ignorance, but how do they rate on the intelligence/loyalty scale, compared to say, dogs? Do they exhibit personalities like most domestic 'pets'?
this is not as easy a question as it may first appear, firstly Harris hawks are unique in that they are the only species of raptor which hunts in packs, so their loyalty to their handler is vastly greater than that of most raptors.
I would say that Torin's Loyalty is somwhere between a cat and a dog, he displays very similar behaviours to a dog such as flying ahead then every few minutes then coming back to check on you and brushing past you to let you know he's there.
but he will only actually come and sit on the glove if he thinks there is a possiblity of food or if he is tired and wants a lift
if I am out with my wife and we take separate routes torin will fly back and forth between us checking on us both, I would say its quite impossible to lose him.
I dont use any jesses (leather straps), hood or transmitters on torin, he has a bell which helps me find him in long grass when he has a rabbit. But other than that there is nothing to stop him flying off whenever he wants
he also likes to show you what he has found and get you to follow him to it, which often includes foxes and grass snakes
he defiantly exhibits personality, torin seems to decide whether he likes people on a person by person basis, but if you are blonde or bald your are off to a bad start. if he doesnt like you he will keep his distance and watch you.
he is amazingly inquisitive and likes to explore everything
Intelligence is a hard one too, Harris hawks are believed to be the most intelligent of the raptors but there intelligence is hard to compare to other animals.
Torin has worked out how to untie the knot which keeps him on the perch whilst I sort out the gear, but on the other hand he doesnt seem to realise that when he is tied on to something he cant fly away????? (though saying that dogs often seem oblivious to the fact that pulling on the lead till they choke doesnt get them anywhere either)
he can make very intelligent decisions about what he can see, but he doesnt seem to be able to make deductions independent of what he sees, for example if he catches a rabbit and I want to take it off him without him getting upset I cover it with a cloth and even though he is standing on it he seem to forget its there??
however if he can see something he will stop at nothing working out how to get at it.
bear in mind though that this all takes a huge amount of training, more time has been invested in Torin that an other animal I have ever trained
