A privileged ride

It’s not every day that someone gets a police escort all the way from Horsham to Melbourne.

But that was the case for a tiny boobook owl in desperate need of medical attention.

Carers and Horsham Veterinary Hospital staff assessing the young female, which x-rays revealed suffered a broken wing, initially believed the bird was a much rarer barking owl.

The circumstance called for a need to get the injured individual to Melbourne Zoo for treatment as quickly as possible and that meant finding a ride to Melbourne.

A community call out prompted a variety of responses but the best came from Horsham Highway Patrol, which just happened to be sending a car to Melbourne for an equipment upgrade.

The journey also involved going right past Melbourne Zoo.

Leading Senior Constable Hamish Forbes had the job behind the wheel and happily ferried his feathered cargo to its destination.

Members of the public discovered the distressed bird near Donald and took it to Rae and Jo Talbot’s wildlife shelter at Minyip.

“We often get a lot of orphaned owls and in many cases severely injured birds have to be euthanised. In this case the feeling was the break could be fixed,” she said.

“For the police to come to our help was an awesome outcome.”

Horsham Veterinary Hospital practice manager Jo Adams said ‘rare and amazing’ native animals occasionally turned up at the hospital for treatment.

“X-rays revealed the owl had a broken wing and the plan was to get it Healesville Sanctuary via Melbourne Zoo,” she said.

There were no wailing sirens and flashing lights but the little nocturnal bird had a privileged

ride. Sadly on last reports Melbourne Zoo veterinarians, after giving it some pain relief, decided the injuries were too severe.

Rae Talbot said she had hoped the boobook would beat the odds and end up being the subject of a lucky story of survival.

“Unfortunately they often aren’t lucky,” she said.

Mrs Talbot urged people who came across injured wildlife in her area to call on 0429 868 167. SCHUBERTS PEST SERVICES Ph: 5382 7484