Mack The Strife

There's an amphitheatre at London Zoo, covered by a large open-ended marquee, where they put on "Animals in Action" shows. They bring in creatures to perform natural behaviours which they have used positive reinforcement to persuade them to do in front of audiences. The stage in the amphitheatre has been rebuilt as part of the recent refurbishment in the zoo, and the staff warned us that the animals were still practising their routines in the slightly strange surroundings. Therefore things may not go as they hoped.

First (and almost last) out was the Harris Hawk, Mack. He flew from keeper to keeper low above our heads, taking tidbits and following signals. He left the stage on cue, but then reappeared on the top of the back wall of the stage. Unfortunately the pigeons outside the tent chose that moment to flutter around a bit, and Mack did what came naturally - he flew outside to try and go hunting. He disappeared into the trees, going higher and higher. He swooped on to the roof of the marquee, and came off with something in his claws that he proceeded to eat. It looked like a leaf - very difficult to hunt! No chance of tempting him down for food now, everybody thought. The keepers would have to stay all night to catch him before he flew at first light. The show was cancelled. Then he flew down and on to a keeper's (gloved) arm. The keeper took hold of the jessies, and he struggled a bit against them. You could really see how strong he was. Luckily for the pigeons and starlings, he didn't manage to get away again.

The rats, skunk and even the macaws seemed a bit tame after that.

The photos are not mine, but came via Google.