SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — Wildlife rescuers across the Tampa Bay region are urgently raising awareness about wild animal deaths linked to rat poison. Recent casualties include a bobcat found in Safety Harbor and several red-shouldered hawks in Sarasota. On Monday evening, 10 Tampa Bay reported that another poisoned red-shouldered hawk was rescued in Sarasota and is now fighting for its life.

Experts have identified a key sign of rodenticide poisoning in raptors like hawks: the closing of their third eyelid, known as the nictitating membrane. Jonathan Hande, Senior Avian Hospital Technician at Save Our Seabirds, explained, “We look for the eyes closing, which to the average person appears as eyes being glazed over.”

The Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida (WCSF) has already treated more than 30 birds of prey for rodenticide poisoning this year. Recently, a family of hawks, including two chicks, died in Sarasota. Save Our Seabirds took in the adult male, while the WCSF cared for the chicks. One chick died within 24 hours, and while the second initially showed signs of recovery, it ultimately relapsed and passed away.

A bobcat found dead in a tree in Safety Harbor is also suspected to have been poisoned. Fairl Thomas, a wildlife rescuer with Birds in Helping Hands, suspects rodenticide was involved, noting, “There wasn't anything obvious like a broken leg or blood from a gunshot wound.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is conducting a necropsy to confirm if rodenticide exposure was responsible for the bobcat's death. Rescuers suspect that neighbors using outdoor rat poison unintentionally exposed these wild animals to the deadly substances.

To manage rat infestations safely, rescuers recommend using mechanical traps instead. “I suggest mechanical traps, whether that be ‘have-a-heart’ traps or snap traps,” Hande advised. Although less convenient than poison, mechanical traps reduce risks to local wildlife.

Switching to safer pest control measures is crucial to protecting the region's wildlife predators at the top of the food chain. Rescuers believe that with community support, fatal poisonings can be reduced, helping preserve the natural ecosystem.