The La Tahonilla Wildlife Recovery Center, dependent on the Natural Environment Management and Security area of the Cabildo de Tenerife, has reconstructed the plumage of a falcon whose primary feathers had broken, making it difficult for it to fly. On this occasion, “we have grafted feathers taken from another animal of the same species that, for whatever reason, has died,” says Alejandro Suárez, a veterinarian at the center. «Usually, we keep feathers in a kind of bank that we have in the center and, when an animal needs them, we make the graft. The recovery is immediate since the only problem was that the feathers were broken », he explains. In this case, it is a tagarote falcon, which is in danger of extinction and which in Spain is only found on all the Canary Islands and on the islets of Roque del Este, Alegranza and Montaña Clara. |