RIGHT NEXT DOOR: Chris Paparo (with Emmy), Falconer, Naturalist, Conservationist

RIGHT NEXT DOOR: Chris Paparo (with Emmy), Falconer, Naturalist, Conservationist
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Chris Paparo (with Red-Tailed Hawk Emmy), Falconer, Naturalist, Conservationist
Partnering with a raptor is no easy thing -- you have to get the bird when it's young and make a connection, then forge bonds painstakingly over time. (It's like parenting, only your child in this case has lethally sharp talons.) Paparo and Emmy, happily, had an instant rapport. Some might find it odd to have a full-grown bird of prey in your backyard -- but Paparo and his wife, who both work at their local aquarium, regard it as a natural outgrowth of their passion for animals. Emmy isn't just a freeloader, though -- when Paparo isn't writing or photographing articles about the environment, he's often hunting with her.

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