Resilient Raptors

From World Bird Sanctuary

The resilience of raptors is truly remarkable. In late November, we received 2 birds who had been struck by vehicles and then stuck in the grills within a few days of each other. Remarkably, neither had sustained any fractures, despite being hit by objects over 2,000x their weight and moving at over 60 mph.

Eastern Screech Owl 24-690 had gotten their head stuck in the grill. They were in shock and hypothermic on admit, but after a few hours of heat and oxygen support, they had stabilized and were much more alert. They were exhibiting neurological symptoms consistent with a head injury and had some small abrasions to their feet and left wing. 690 recovered quickly and was released after just 15 days of care!

Barred Owl 24-696 had gone all the way through the grill and was in there for ~12 hours before the finders realized he was still alive and contacted us for help. 696 had a dislocation in his wrist, scattered bruising, some damage to both eyes, and neurological symptoms consistent with head trauma. The wrist was able to be popped back into place and over the next 2 weeks, the swelling and bruising over it slowly disappeared. 696s wrist remained stable as he exercised and he was successfully released after only 26 days of care!