Banish Pigeons, Metro Station In San Francisco 'contracts' Hunting Eagles For Patrol

Harris eagle illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Peter K Burian)

JAKARTA - Passengers of metro transportation modes in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States now have a new 'protector' at their subscription stations in recent months.

A 5-year-old Harris eagle named Pac-Man now has a perch at El Cerrito del Norte station, wary of intruders. Not unticked passengers, but pigeons.

Ricky Ortiz, Pac-Man's handler, began patrolling the bird at the station this summer, contracted by Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, to keep pigeons out of the station, protecting passengers from pigeon droppings.

The team patrolled three days a week, starting their day at the lower level entrances before exploring the platform, scaring off the pigeons that were 'resting' in the corners of the station. So far, Ortiz has seen a big difference.

"Perhaps, the number of pigeons here has been reduced by half after a week of our patrolling," he explained.

Harris eagle illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/DickDaniels)

Ortiz tries to prevent Pac-Man from preying on local pigeons or rodents, instead giving him snacks throughout the day to keep him happy at work.

So far, Pac-Man has become famous among commuters. Bethany Campbell (43) for example, where she took a selfie with Ortiz and Pac-Man to send to her family.

"We have families in the Midwest and south. They think everything in the Bay Area is weird, so the idea of having eagles here for pigeon eradication is just funny to them," Campbell said, adding he was scared at first when he saw the eagles, but now thinks it's great. .