this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
250 points (99.6% liked)

Superbowl

3406 readers
414 users here now

For owls that are superb.

US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now

International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com

Australia Rescue Help: WIRES

If you find an injured owl:

Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.

Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.

Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.

If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.

For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
dragonfly
Smokeless7048
250
I'm Ready Now (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by anon6789 to c/superbowl
23 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

From Ken Grille

Great Horned Owl release October 2024, Plymouth, Ma. It's on an extremely rare occasion that get to see a a majestic Owl this close up. But on this day my friend from Cape Wildlife Center invited me to join a release of this beautiful rehabilitated animal. This GHO was not doing well when rescued, needing TLC for about a month, but seemed to be as good as new when he flew off back into the wilderness on this day. My favorite part of this sequence was right before the release when the Owl turned his head and looked right until his rescuer's eyes as if to say thank you I'm ready now. Quite a moment. And then within seconds he flew off into the thick brush to resume the life of a GHO. Note: This GHO tested negative for HPAI (bird flu) so handler did not have to wear full PPE when handling him.

We are fortunate to have a few amazing wildlife rescue centers in our area and Cape Wildlife does incredible work. They save the lives of numerous baby and adult animals and am so grateful to them for what they do. There is a link on their website to donate if you wish to help them out. (Or just click right here!)

all 24 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] anon6789 38 points 2 months ago (1 children)

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

O RLY?

[–] anon6789 13 points 2 months ago

The wonky ears really add to the expression!

[–] anon6789 29 points 2 months ago (2 children)

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Fluffy. :)

I like the good news. Those rodent's lifes just got a bit more... Exciting.

[–] anon6789 9 points 2 months ago

Yup, I like being able to share the good stuff with you all best.

This fellow does indeed look hungry!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Those ear tufts! <3

[–] anon6789 8 points 2 months ago

They are especially fabulous on this one! 😍

[–] anon6789 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

[–] anon6789 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I imagine it's getting all pumped up to fly, the eyeball version of a character licking their lips before eating something tasty. ☺️

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Wait what? Do owls have an extra set of windshield wipers apart from their eyelids?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

Nictitating membrane

[–] anon6789 9 points 2 months ago

As the other reply says, this is the nictitating membrane. A bunch of animals have them for various reasons.

Owl-natomy: Eyelids

I did this post about owl eyelids before that shows you some cool features. As a bonus, you kinda sorta but not really have a third eyelid too! Check the comments in that thread.

[–] anon6789 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

[–] marron12 2 points 2 months ago

Beautiful. That's an impressive wingspan.

[–] anon6789 21 points 2 months ago

[–] anon6789 11 points 2 months ago

I like how the leopard print of her outfit actually matches the owl's upper and back patterns surprisingly well.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

To make a donation: https://capewildlifecenter.com/925-2/

[–] anon6789 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thank you! I got distracted before adding that in there.

[–] ikidd 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I was watching one of these on a fence post in one of our fields a couple days ago. He knew I was there but didn't pay much attention to me as he watched for mice in the barley swaths. Huge guy (or gal, idk how to tell them apart).

[–] anon6789 5 points 2 months ago

One of the reasons owls would make bad pets is they have poor attention spans. Most owls don't even have interest in hanging out with other owls.

They are very big and majestic, and I always love getting a good up close look at them.

Telling owl sexes apart isn't the simplest thing to do. You can see if they lay an egg. You can see if they're the one spending the most time sitting with the eggs/babies. If there's a mating pair, the female is bigger. You can take physical measurements and body weight and compare it to special charts that will give a pretty confident result. And of course a DNA test.

Most of the time, even experts won't know unless they get the hands on time with it, or see it doing some of the specific behaviors I mentioned.

[–] homesweethomeMrL 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Darn dusty in these superbowl threads . . .

*snif*

[–] anon6789 2 points 2 months ago

🥲🦉