Peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, and other raptors have successfully colonized urban environments, where their welfare is shaped by unique city-specific challenges and opportunities.
Urban raptor welfare is shaped by the intersection of significant opportunities (prey abundance, reduced persecution) and specific risks (rodenticides, glass, vehicles). The rodenticide problem is particularly significant - urban raptors that hunt rodents inevitably consume animals that have ingested second-generation anticoagulants. This secondary poisoning causes slow internal bleeding that may not kill immediately but progressively impairs the bird over weeks. A Cooper's hawk or peregrine that appears sick or dies prematurely in an urban environment is often a rodenticide victim. The scale of urban rodenticide use means this represents a significant cause of urban raptor morbidity that is largely invisible to the public.