Hawk Flies In William Bruso’s Taxi During Hurricane: Cooper’s Hawk Hunkers Down With Drunk Cab Driver In Storm

A Cooper’s hawk has been named “Harvey the Hurricane Hawk” by William Bruso, a taxi driver who filmed his series of interactions with the hawk as Hurricane Harvey barreled down upon Texas. Bruso started recording his videos – the first one can be seen below – when the hawk first landed in the passenger seat of his taxi and refused to fly out. Bruso said that a cat had spooked the hawk, and that might have contributed to the hawk’s fears, along with the strong winds of the approaching storm.

Bruso was buying supplies from the local H.E.B. store and finishing up his final fares when the hawk came along for the ride, at one point preferring to ride on the dashboard of the taxi on Friday. Bruso posted his video to Facebook, and it went viral as folks watched to figure out the fate of Harvey the Hurricane Hawk. Bruso took the hawk home at one point and eventually gave the hawk to the Texas Wildlife Rescue Center on Saturday, according to the Daily Mail. Harvey the Hurricane Hawk seemed to stay calm during the storm, and even when Bruso put on gloves and tried to encourage the hawk to fly away, it wouldn’t. Bruso fed the hawk chicken hearts and gave it water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6MjdV_8E6Q

Bruso also uploaded videos of himself and a friend as they waited out Hurricane Harvey’s approach, using the time to talk about taking shots, getting drunk, and making pancakes with peanut butter and syrup. The hawk chose an entertaining duo to hunker down with during the storm, as Bruso argued with his friend about a variety of issues. Bruso also complimented the looks of the meteorologists on Fox as he watched TV and got updates on the approaching hurricane.

Harvey the Hurricane Hawk seeks refuge in Houston man's taxi: https://t.co/6rHj5DUQmX pic.twitter.com/Fpu2SbT2E4

— KOMO News (@komonews) August 27, 2017

As the Cooper’s hawk nibbled on raw chicken hearts, the newly dubbed Harvey the Hurricane Hawk went viral online as folks concerned about the hawk’s well-being sought updates. Whether it was the air pressure that scared the hawk, or the interaction with the cat, or some other factor that caused the hawk’s wings to droop – which could indicate sickness – the reason the hawk chose Bruso as his protector was not made clear.

[Featured Image by Ron Harris/AP Images]