Owl released in Cedar Lakes is ready to soar
BROADACRES – An injured owl, which has been cared for by residents of Cedar Lakes, was ringed recently and then released back into the wild.
Photo: Supplied
It has been a hoot for the people of Cedar Lakes as they cared for an injured owl that has now been returned to the wild.
In November last year, a barn owl (tyto alba) was rescued by the Johannesburg Wildlife Vet after it was injured by a Jack Russell terrier which had ripped out its feathers. The animal was placed in the care of residents from the Cedar Lakes housing complex, who have built a special release pen near their clubhouse for owls in need.
In early March, the barn owl, who has been named Chris by residents, was ringed by Hussein Moyo from Ecosolutions as part of owlproject.org as residents and local children watched and interacted with it.
After four months in rehabilitation, the owl eventually grew out new feathers and was released back into the wild a few days after being ringed, which was done in order to help researchers monitor the species.
Owlproject.org is an NPO which was established to educate people about the importance and benefits of owls, while also debunking the myths around the creatures.
The project also runs the release programme in schools and estates around Gauteng for conservation effort and the greater survival of owls to control the rodent population.
During the ringing, Jonathan Haw surprised the crowd when he showed up to give a talk. He told them that conservation-wise, the key to successful release is to release the bird as close to the place it was found as possible.
It is not ideal to release owls far away from where they have been collected because there is a greater chance the owl will try and go back to its habitat and won’t survive the way back to the area it was taken from.
Details: www.owlproject.org
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