History & Accomplishments

In the early 1970s, TRC cofounder Dr. Gary Duke, a faculty member at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, was conducting research on the digestive efficiency of grain-eating turkeys. Cofounder and current director Dr. Patrick Redig was a sophomore veterinary student who would later become a graduate student working with Dr. Duke on a Ph.D. in avian physiology. Four baby great horned owls changed the fate of both.

Brought to Dr. Duke by one of his veterinary students, the owls offered Dr. Duke an opportunity to expand his research to include avian meat-eaters. The soft baby owls, with their large yellow eyes, also captured his heart. Dr. Duke remains an avowed owl-lover to this day.

As Dr. Duke sought additional owls for his study through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Dr. Redig, an avid falconer, offered to care for the resident owls as well as other birds not needed for research. Over time, he began to repair their injuries and return them to the wild. In the process, Redig pioneered the avian orthopedic and anesthetic techniques that are used by avian veterinarians today. He also began using live, non-releasable birds of prey to educate the general public about raptor behavior, habitat, and threats to their survival. Today, the magic of raptors makes it possible for The Raptor Center¿s educational programs to reach more than 150,000 annually.

The seeds of what today is known as The Raptor Center took root in 1974 in Haecker Hall, a building on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. Since then, much has been accomplished:

• 1975 TRC began receiving an annual grant of $5,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support its veterinary work with endangered species such as the bald eagle and peregrine falcon.
• 1981 Dr. Redig compiled the first edition of Medical Management of Birds of Prey, which detailed the medical and surgical techniques he developed for birds of prey. Revised in 1993, the book is still considered a definitive guide to raptor medicine and surgery, and is used by avian veterinarians all over the world. Dr. Redig and TRC staff are currently working on a third edition, along with a series of compact disks to supplement the book. The CDs and book will be available in mid-2005.
• 1982 Pat Redig of The Raptor Center and Bud Tordoff of the University of Minnesota¿s Bell Museum of Natural History launched the Midwest Peregrine Falcon Restoration Project. In cooperation with the Nature Conservancy and the falconry community, Redig and Tordoff obtained peregrine chicks that were bred in captivity and released them into appropriate nesting sites on buildings, smokestacks, bridges, and cliffs. In 1981, there were two known nesting pairs of peregrine falcons on the Midwestern North American continent, southeastern Manitoba, and the Lake Superior basin of Ontario. As of August 2003, there are 144 nesting pairs in 9 Midwestern states and adjoining Canadian provinces. The peregrine falcon was removed from the endangered species list in 1999.
• 1985 TRC developed a sensitive and accurate diagnostic test for aspergillosis, the most common fatal disease of raptors.


• 1988 TRC staff and birds moved into a new, state-of-the-art facility constructed with funds donated by Don and Louise Gabbert of Minneapolis, Minn. The $2.5 million, 21,000-square-foot facility allowed TRC to further develop rehabilitation, education, research, and conservation activities. It is the only facility of its kind in the world.
• 1990 TRC established a three-year veterinary residency program in raptor medicine. It is the only such program in the world.
• 1990 The PUF Raptor Professorship endowmentwasestablished with gifts of more than $25,000 from Katherine B. Anderson, Sarah J. Andersen, Bruce C. Dayton, the Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust, Mardag Foundation, Solly Robins, and the Donald Weesner Estate. Original gifts totaled more than $258,000 and have grown to over $470,000.
• 1993 Dr. Patrick Redig was appointed to the California Condor Recovery Team, based out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Sacramento, California. In 1985, the California condor population had been reduced to 26 birds, of which only 9 remained in the wild. Birds were brought into captivity and were bred and managed by the San Diego Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo. Due to the continued impact of lead poisoning, re-entry to the wild was challenging. On April 11, 2002, for the first time in 18 years, a California condor egg laid in the wild was hatched in California's Ventura County.
• 1993 The University of Minnesota Press published Raptor Biomedicine II, a book for which Dr. Redig was senior editor. Resulting from an international symposium held in Minneapolis in 1988, the book contained contributions from raptor veterinarians and biologists in 10 countries, from the United States to the United Arab Emirates.
• 1994 In collaboration with the Science Museum of Minnesota, TRC produced “Hunters of the Sky,” a 5,000-square-foot exhibit that provides a closer look at eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, and vultures and challenges visitors to confront their values and choices that threaten these extraordinary creatures. This award-winning project was funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibit is currently traveling to science museums throughout the country.
• 1994 The Raptor Rehabilitation Endowment was established with gifts of more than $25,000 from Katherine B. Anderson, Harriet S. Lykken, and an anonymous donor.
• 1995 Dr. Redig developed the fixator, a combination of internally and externally applied linked devices that stabilize fractures during healing. This device revolutionized orthopedic management of fractures in birds.
• 1999 TRC engaged in a study of lead poisoning in bald eagles along the Mississippi River.
• 1999 A substantial gift from longtime supporters Doug and Wendy Dayton established the Patrick T. Redig Professorship in Raptor Medicine and Surgery at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. This gift, along with a gift from Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation, John G. Ordway, and other gifts permanently endowed the position of the director of The Raptor Center and funded a residency in raptor medicine and surgery.
• 2001 Dr. Richard Jones, a veterinary resident from Wales, completed his residency and graduate program. His graduate work focused on the development of a surgical process to perform endoscopy-guided vasectomy in immature birds. This process is now utilized in hybrid falcons to prevent reproduction and in young male cockatiels to prevent behavior problems.
• 2002 Dr. Redig received the Conservation Award from the Association of Avian Veterinarians for lifelong dedication to improving the welfare of the avian population.
  · 2002 Dr. Jalila Abu, a veterinary resident from Malaysia, completed her residency and Ph.D. Her research on the use of demineralized bone matrix in avian orthopedics has contributed to a growing body of knowledge used in both human and veterinary fracture repairs.
• 2002 West Nile virus swept across the Midwest, killing wild and captive birds in significant numbers, including many endangered birds managed in captivity. In collaboration with the University of Georgia and Louisiana State University, TRC began an effort to test and license a recombinant-DNA vaccine product developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which has already proved effective in test studies.
• 2003 TRCwas invited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to head up an initiative to mitigate lead poisoning in California condors in southern California and Arizona. In addition to the California Condor Recovery Team, project partners included the California Fish and Game Department, National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports, Safari International, and Wildlife Management Institute.
• 2003 Dr. Arnaud Van Wettere, a veterinary resident from Belgium, completed his clinical residency and graduate program. His research involved analyzing the elements and configuration of the tie-in fixator for fracture repair and optimizing the hardware used in this device.
• 2004 Dr. Miguel Saggesse, a veterinary resident from Argentina, completed his master's thesis focusing on testing the efficacy of three West Nile virus vaccines and the transfer of maternal antibodies in Japanese quail. This work furthered progress toward licensing an avian-specific West Nile virus vaccine.