Rescue and release
With time and dedication, injured powerful owls can be saved.
IN SYDNEY, injured powerful owls are mostly taken to the Taronga Zoo Wildlife Hospital in Mosman. There they are first kept in a small enclosure, then transferred to an aviary, and, when strong enough, taken to a walled and shuttered enclosure that won’t damage their wings. Last year the hospital received eight POs. Two were dead on arrival, two died afterwards and four were eventually released.
I visited the hospital with Jacqui Marlow from wildlife rescue service Sydney Wildlife, who was collecting a young male that’d been treated for a month after being found near Lane Cove National Park with head injuries. Hospital Manager Libby Hall had him fly around the enclosure twice daily and he was now strong enough to be released. “We have good success with powerful owls if their injuries aren’t too severe,” Libby said. But they often have multiple injuries after being hit by a car and don’t survive.
As Jacqui and I drove to the release site, the owl in a special box with a perch, we stopped to place bunting on a broken wildlife fence. “Possums get through here and onto the road and then owls chase them and get hit,” Jacqui explained.
At Lane Cove NP, at a clearing by the river, Jacqui placed the box on the ground near a tall tree, opened it and crawled away on her hands and knees. She’s released 10 owls this way. “I try to let them go as close as I can to where they were found, but as far away from busy roads as possible,” she said.
We didn’t have to wait long before the owl popped his head out, peered around and launched himself into the tree. After a few minutes scanning the area, he gave us one last look with those enormous yellow eyes and then silently disappeared into the darkness.