Vitebsk Zoo Rescues Long-Eared Owl Chicks

Recently, a resident of Orsha brought unfeathered owlets to the zoo. He found the helpless chicks in the forest. Apparently, the owl's nest was overturned during a hurricane, and the little ones ended up on the ground.

Now, professionals are literally fighting for their lives. The owlets are too young to feed themselves, so they have to be fed with tweezers, imitating a bird's beak. They eat willingly, but their future fate can only be discussed in about three weeks, clarifies zoo director Irina Orlova. Unfortunately, even with a successful outcome, the feathered birds will not be able to return to their natural habitat. Therefore, Irina Mikhailovna asks people not to pick up small owls in the forest if they are not injured. They are simply learning to fly, and their mothers are watching them from above, so they are not in danger.

By the way, the long-eared owl was named Bird of the Year 2015 in Belarus by the public organization "Aхова птушак Бацькаўшчыны" (Association for the Conservation of Birds of the Fatherland). It is one of the eleven species of owls that nest in our country. They can turn their heads 270 degrees, their ear tufts are not organs of hearing, and they hunt exclusively for rodent-like rodents, preferring voles.

Oleg Shvedov, "Vitebskiye Vesti"