Thanks to the community’s support we are happy to announce two western screech owls with significant eye injuries are returning to the wild. In fact, one already did! Patient 17-995 was released on under blue skies on Wednesday, April 24 at Touvelle Park. Patient 18-049 is set to be released in Medford on Wednesday, May 2nd. The public is invited to join us at 5:30 at Touvelle Park for this very special release! You’ll be able to get a peek at the patient up close, learn about his injuries and recovery, and watch as he returns to the wild!
This is all because of the community’s generous support! Thank you for helping save these two owls!
These two owls came in from Jackson County separately but are suffered from similar injuries which prevented them from release into the wild. Wildlife Image’s Animal Care Specialists determined both owls were hit by cars resulting in two different injuries that require eye surgery. The damaged parts of the eye needed to be removed, the wound cleaned and then sutured. It may sound rather simple, but it’s not. It took a specific set of skills and tools including an operating microscope and microsurgical instruments… and it was expensive – normally, $2,400 each… For both owls, that’s $4,800! Dr. Cassandra Bliss is a veterinary eye specialist that we regularly work with. She generously donated her time and thanks to many generous community members we were able to cover the remaining costs of medicine, laboratory work and staff time. With this procedure, these two birds will live a full life in the wild – even with the loss of vision in one eye.
Please join us for the public release of Patient 18-049 on Wednesday, May 2nd at Touvelle Park in Medford at 5:30!
(Releases are subject to last minute changes because of animal progress and weather. Please watch for any changes or updates on Facebook.)
