MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Snow and sleet can’t stop ’em, but postal carriers on two streets in a Saskatchewan city have been turned back by two aggressive hawks.
Canada Post spokeswoman Sandra Sobko says mail service along parts of James and Henry streets in Moose Jaw had to be suspended about a month ago because of angry raptors.
“We are monitoring the situation, but for now, nothing has changed,” she said late last week.
She suggested the pair’s hawklets probably hadn’t left the nest yet because the adults were still acting protective and territorial.
“Another letter carrier was attacked just last week two blocks from the original site.”
Sobko said Canada Post needs confirmation the birds have left the area before door-to-door mail delivery resumes.
Canada Post is staying in contact with animal control officers from Saskatchewan Environment to keep tabs on the birds.
“We look forward to resuming delivery when the hawks have left and appreciate our customers’ ongoing patience and understanding in this situation.”
Jeanette Karayetski, a Saskatchewan Environment spokeswoman, said Moose Jaw conservation officers have received calls from the postal service and residents concerned about the hawks. But there have been no reports of actual bird attacks.
She said the taloned predators swoop at pedestrians to scare them away from chick-filled nests. Actual hawk-on-human attacks are not common.
Conservation officers aren’t recommending people stay away from the hawk fly-zone, so it’s really up to Canada Post to decide when it resumes delivery along the two streets, Karayetski said.
The chicks are almost fully grown and will probably leave the area in the near future, she added.
Homeowners affected by suspended delivery can pick up their mail at the post office.
At it turns out, there may be a group more intrepid than postal carriers after all. The Moose Jaw Times-Herald reports its carriers are continuing home delivery of the daily newspaper.