ARVIAT - Joseph Kablutsiak of Arviat could never have imagined what awaited him when his daughter called him outside earlier this month.

Joseph Kablutsiak displays the injured young peregrine falcon his family nursed back to health in Arviat earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Nadine Lamoureux

There, standing on the ground near the side of his truck unable to take flight, was an injured juvenile peregrine falcon.

The peregrine falcon, also referred to as a duck hawk, is a bird of prey.

It's a large, crowsized falcon, distinguished by its bluegrey back, barred white underparts, and black head and moustache. What many people don't realize about the peregrine falcon is that it's recognized as the fastest animal on the planet.

Amazingly, the peregrine can surpass speeds of 322km/h (200 m.p.h.) in a dive.

The female peregrine tends to be much bigger than its male counterpart, and its breeding range stretches from the Arctic tundra to the tropics.

In fact, the peregrine falcon can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains and most rainforests.

Kablutsiak figures his peregrine falcon must have hit overhead wires and fell to the ground.

The bird's benefactor said once he was certain the falcon couldn't fly, he took it inside, put it in a box and fed it with chicken and mice.

Kablutsiak said he contacted Renewable Resources, but its officers were all out of town. He was informed the bird would be looked at once they arrived back in the community.

"We decided we could keep it until it could fly again, and we could even provide a cage for the bird," said Kablutsiak.

"We looked after it the best we could, hoping it would be able to fly soon and we wouldn't have to keep it all winter."

The falcon began to look healthier every day and started trusting Kablutsiak more as he and his family nursed it back to health.

As it turned out, Kablutsiak spent his final moments with the bird this past weekend, when he took it out to look for mice.

"The bird looked up at the sky and then back at me, and then it took flight.

"I went up to the flat rocks by the dump and watched it soar in the sky, healthy and free once again.

"I am very happy to have been given the chance to save the bird's life."