SEATTLE — Taima the hawk, who helps stir up excitement ahead of each Seahawks home game, went off script on Sunday and turned one fan into a human perch.
"It was happy. I was happy. It was awesome," said Roxann Ward.
Video shows Taima taking a detour from his ritual of flying around the stadium and back to his handler.
Taima instead goes right for the head of Bob Tadlock, who KIRO 7 spoke with over the phone.
Tadlock said Taima did not have talons out and that he probably looked more scared on television than he felt.
"When he landed down on the guy's head, all of a sudden the bird came down, and I put my arm up and he just sat there,” said Ward.
"What amazed me the most is the cameras were going off and he just stood there,” said Ward.
It is an image that has spread around the world.
Ward says it’s a moment she will never forget.
"Powerful, surreal, it was just amazing. It was a good omen. Everything about it was just phenomenal,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Seahawks didn’t respond to KIRO 7’s multiple attempts to ask if Taima will fly at the next home game – or whether the hawk's behavior is of any concern.
KIRO
