A few years ago, after a few days of cold, windy, wet December days, I abetted in the demise of a gray squirrel. That morning the sun came out, the wind calmed and it warmed up a bit. I was doing a few slow, casual laps around the neighborhood when a squirrel came across a yard in search of food. As I got near the squirrel, it sat up on its hind end and was looking at me. I moved to the far side of the road and all of a sudden a red-tailed hawk came swooping out of a tree, nailed the squirrel with a perfect strike at the back of the neck in its talons and then flew back into the woods with its food. The squirrel never moved in anyway once it was struck, the hawk never stopped or hesitated in its flight, and I just looked saying to myself, " Wow, that was pretty cool. " I guess the talons severed the squirrels spinal cord and it maybe never felt a thing. I had seen birds of prey bag their target before, but never that close up, and I had never before abetted in it.