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Barred owl victim of vehicle or illegal captivity?

2/23/2014

8 Comments

 
Last week was a slow week as far as intakes; however, it was an insane week for editing…which is why a slow week for intakes probably helped preserve what little sanity I have left!

This rather small adult male barred owl was actually the only intake for the week. He was found near a light pole, so the finder’s initial assumption was that he might have hit the wires. He didn’t see any injuries but the owl was quite docile when he moved it to safety, worried that free-roaming dogs might kill it.
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When the finder called me, his description of the owl meshed with “normal” behavior for a concussed bird: docile, quiet—just out of it. The fact that he couldn’t see any injuries encouraged me: maybe we had a bird here who could be released after a few days at the LWR B&B.

When he brought me the bird, however, all sorts of alarms began going off in my mind as he further described its behavior…The owl was never aggressive with him, not even a warning beak click. When he, after talking with me, safely confined the bird for the night, until we could meet the next day, he was startled to discover it would sit on his gloved hand and rouse (ruffle its feathers) quite comfortably.

All this, along with a reasonably well-fleshed bird with less than well-developed flight muscles and slightly overgrown talons made me highly suspicious that we had a bird someone had held illegally and then dumped to fend for itself when a) the novelty wore off; b) they were warned that possession of wildlife without a permit is illegal; and/or c) he bit or footed someone.

The finder was not happy at my hazarded guess as to the reason(s) for the bird’s grounding, and I cautioned him that I could still be wrong. Concussed birds can seem extremely tame, and mild thinness can sometimes be confused with underdeveloped flight muscles. I wouldn’t know for certain until I had the bird somewhere other than a parking lot, so I could examine him more thoroughly.

When I got him home, the first thing I did was to check his eyes with a penlight. To my dismay, both eyes were cloudy, the left more so than the right. Not bloody or “soft” or misshapen looking—all signs of a massive blow to the head. No, this was the cloudiness that usually signifies blindness…When I put him back in the box on a perch and tapped on the box and waved my hand in front of his face, he didn’t turn to follow the sound or movement with his head. He stared blankly upward. There seemed to be hearing loss or damage, as well.
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We were still less than 48 hours out from when he was found, so all of this could still be related to a concussion. But then I put on a glove again and put my hand behind the owl…who stepped back onto my hand. He didn’t sit like a properly trained bird; he spread his feet across the palm of my hand. He allowed me to pull him right up against my chest…without trying to give me a free mastectomy, which is normally SOP for even concussed barred owls.

And he refused the whole rat I offered him but readily ate the chopped-up rat I hand-fed him…albeit with some degree of difficulty, as if he was unfamiliar with the texture. Hmmm…

So...is the owl the victim of a run-in with a vehicle? Was he kept illegally and fed a crap diet that resulted in blindness and possibly other health issues? Is there something else entirely going on? Will he be releasable or is he truly blind and possibly deaf? I honestly don’t know at this point. I’ll give him more time to see what happens, but I’m not nearly as optimistic as I was only a day ago.

An owl with one good eye can be released, as they hunt primarily by hearing. An owl who is deaf cannot be released, and obviously a totally blind or severely vision-impaired owl isn’t a candidate for release. Furthermore, such an owl is not a candidate for an educational bird. Why? Stop and think about it from the bird’s POV, if you will: you can’t see or hear anything; you can’t feed yourself; you’re trapped in a world of—for an owl—near-total sensory deprivation. This isn’t living; it’s barely existing.

And if this was caused by some idiot keeping him illegally and feeding him the wrong foods, then I sincerely hope they’re repaid in full for their jackassery. (And I’d dearly like to be the instrument of that repayment.)
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8 Comments
Pam
2/24/2014 04:51:46 am

Hmm, why was the finder "not happy" with your speculation that the owl might not have had an accident on the power lines or such? Could the finder be the captor? --I wonder what sort of diet could result in blindness. At any rate an interesting mystery, but one certainly hopes you find you can release this creature. --Pam in CO

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
2/24/2014 05:59:56 am

Hey Pam! I could have worded that better, on reflection, but it was late and I was tired--the finder was upset that someone could have treated the owl like that and that he might never be releasable.

There are numerous factors that could explain the blindness, if it's not the result of a concussion, which is looking less and less likely. A diet of, for example, hamburger or chicken would lead to severe nutritional deficiencies that could cause blindness. Prolonged exposure to bright lights as a nestling, when he would normally have been in at least semi-darkness, could have damaged his eyes as they were developing. Who knows at this point? As rehabbers, all we can usually do is play guessing games as to what might have caused these situations...and swear at human stupidity and arrogance.

Reply
Kelli Wren Crackel
2/24/2014 06:20:10 am

I just want to say, I know the rescuer. He would never keep a wild animal captive. He works with certain domesticated animals and would never try to keep a wild animal in captivity, but you are right to question his motives. You don't know him and it's an honest question. Also, an owl takes a very special diet to keep it healthy(I wanted one for a pet when I was a child and my parents made me research owl care to show me how hard it is to keep an owl in captivity, even with a permit). Just like with people, malnutrition can cause a great many health problems. This whole story breaks my heart and I cannot believe a human being would treat an animal like this. If the assumption is correct that this owl was kept in captivity illegally then the person who kept it mistreated it by not having the sense to realize the owl is a unique living being and should be treated as such. I have no idea what they could have possible fed it, but I feel sure they did little to no research as to what owls need to live. Either way, if this supposition is correct, then whoever kept the owl must have thrown it out like it was garbage. I have NO patience for people who abandon animals for any reason. I live in the country and have fed more stray cats and dogs that people have thrown out near my home than I can count. It's very isolated out here and an "ideal" place to abandon perfectly good animals that some idiot has just gotten tired of and doesn't think enough of to take to a shelter. It angers me and if this owl was treated the same way it sickens me. I'm sorry, I just get very angry when an animal is mistreated and now this beautiful creature may have to be destroyed because of human stupidity and selfishness. No creature deserves that. I wish we could find out who it was that did this, but I wish that every time a new stray appears in my yard and I know that it is almost impossible.

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
2/24/2014 06:44:42 am

Hey Kelli, exactly the points I made in my reply above and in the post. Thanks for weighing in!

Bernice
2/24/2014 07:42:39 am

If s/he should survive, where would he go? Would you be able to keep him? And if you need pitchforks, and torches to find the fucktard that did this, please let me know. Polar Vortex be damned, I'm there, and I have a shovel ;)

Reply
Laurens Wildlife Rescue
2/24/2014 07:50:12 am

Hey Bernice, if he regains sight and hearing, which doesn't seem likely, we'd have to see if he wilds up enough for release--remember, concussions can cause birds to act for all the world like they're tame, so that might still be the case here. Honestly, all the factors don't add up to that, though...my money is more and more on human stupidity here...

Nah, I don't do pitchforks and torches; I do voodoo dolls...and abandoned well shafts and bags of lime are actually better bets than shovels... besides, vultures gotta eat, too y'know... ;)

Reply
Bernice
2/24/2014 09:12:41 am

Thanks for the update on Doctor Whooooo ;)

Don't forget the kitty litter to absorb any fluids, and cover odor - should he have an accident.

Laurens Wildlife Rescue
2/24/2014 09:15:38 am

LOL, Bernice!

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