Everyone has encountered a pigeon problem at some point in their lives. Whether you're out walking on a street and man throws a bunch of bread on a curb, or you go over to your friend's old condo only to find a pigeon nest next to the barbeque, pigeons are often labelled as the "rats of the sky" becuase they're always just hanging around looking for any little bits of food.
Maybe you've even encountered them out on the ice when that teammate of yours capitalizes on the fortunes of others by feasting on the garbage in front of the opposition's net.
Over at Wimbledon, Rufus the Hawk is currently on patrol making sure no pigeons invade the courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The 18-year-old bird has done it for over ten years now but faced a more daunting challenge this year after construction began on one of its many playing surfaces. The roof will be completed next year, but that hasn't stopped pigeon from hiding out and laying down their eggs.
Rufus even has his own Twitter account and clothing line.
He can also expand his wings on command (not actually, but just go along with it).
Imogen Davis is the hawk handler responsible for looking after Rufus, and told the Telegraph how much harder Rufus now has it with the new roof being installed.
“He’s not been used to having that enclosed area, it’s meant there are a lot more places for pigeons to roost,” said Davis.
“He used to know the area perfectly, but now there's all these new crevices for pigeons to hide in. It does mean more work indeed … it's practically doubled the work.”
Every morning, the "Bird Scarer" flies around the courts from 5am-9am looking for prey. After that, he takes a nice cold show in the form of a spray bottle to cool him off.
The 2018 tournament is Rufus' 15th year on the job.
Rufus, you are a good bird.
(h/t Telegraph)
