By taking these precautions, orphaned or injured youngsters can, eventually, be returned to the wild. However, if a raptor is imprinted, releasing it to the wild will do nothing for the species' population as the bird will not recognize, and therefore mate with, its own kind. Instead, it will seek out a human as a mate. Whether 8oz kestrel or 14 pound eagle, the bird, then, becomes at least a menace, if not a danger to humans. People fear wild animals when they come too close and, if a comfortable distance is not kept, the human will seek ways to eliminate the intruder.
Imprints often become aggressive when they mature as their mating instincts are often still intact.
Raptor females are larger than males in order to intimidate the male into providing food for her and her brood. The object of the bird's affections will very likely go for the nearest baseball bat or gun and that will be the end of the bird. Late one winter night while driving on a backwoods road with no street or house lights, a woman came around a curve where her headlights caught a rock in the middle of the road. To avoid damaging her tires, she managed to swerve and straddle the rock. However, as she passed over the rock, she heard a thump.