Lost hawk found after nine years

Jarvis could not have got to Preston on his own

A falconer has been reunited with his Harris hawk - nine years after the bird went missing.

Twelve-year-old Jarvis flew away while out hunting with owner Steve Wright in Great Alne, Warwickshire, in 1997 and was reported as lost or missing.

But the pair are together again after Jarvis was seen in a garden in Preston, Lancashire, 130-miles away.

Jarvis was traced by the tag on his leg. His owner said he had no idea where he had been in the meantime.

'Long distance'

Mr Wright said: "He took off in hot pursuit of a rabbit and went over the brow of a hill and that was the last I saw of him. I had given him up for dead."

Last week, Jarvis was spotted in the Preston garden.

However, he did not let himself be recaptured without a fight and it took four days before a trained falconer captured him.

He was then taken to a local bird of prey centre and, with the help of a police wildlife liaison officer, was traced back to Mr Wright through the ring on his leg which has a serial number on it.

What happened in those nine years is a mystery, but Mr Wright said the bird would not have got to Preston on his own.

"He may have got a long distance coach but I rather think someone found him and decided they wanted a free hawk and took him," Mr Wright said.