Toothless The Tawny Owl... We were called out tonight by a couple on their travels after they came across an injured Tawny Owl (Latin: Strix Aluco) sitting in the road in the village of Edingale, which has literally been left toothless. Of course owls dont have teeth, they instead use their sharp beak to rip apart larger prey and swallow small prey whole, however this poor lad has been left with damage to his upper and lower beak meaning the hooked part is now missing. Luckily the main part of the beak is intact but it is unclear as to if the beak will ever re-grow back to normal or if it will be left permanently disfigured. On examination he also has a wound to his sternum and a small wound to his foot so we suspect he has been hit by a car causing him to fall into the road and therefore causing his injuries. He has settled down in a hospital pen after being hand fed raw chicken breast chunks and we have also given him pain relief and antibiotics. We are planning to take him to see a raptor specialist to see what they think about the injury. Either way he will be with us for a while yet and we are sure he will eventually learn to eat chopped up food on his own. Animals have a surprising way of adapting. If the beak does not grow back then he will be unable to be released and we will provide him with a forever home at our sanctuary.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:48:54 +0000
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