What a hoot: personal trainers help owls take wing

Article Date: 2009-11-01   Source: http://www.smh.com.au   Comments: 1

By Caroline Marcus

The personal training boom has a new breed of client - baby owls.

These Powerful owl fledglings are under the supervision of personal trainers at Taronga Zoo's wildlife hospital after the pair fell while learning to fly.

The first chick was brought into the zoo in mid-September after residents in Bayview, in Sydney's north, found it lying on the ground after an attempt to venture from its nest.

Two weeks later, the second youngster - still covered in baby-down feathers - was brought into the hospital thin and weak after being found by construction workers.

A health examination ruled out broken bones or feathers, meaning the birds will be ready to return to the wild relatively quickly.

Hospital manager Libby Hall said the birds were being taught to fly confidently from the ground to trees to evade predators through a fitness regimen and flight training.

''People laugh when we tell them we are personal trainers for Powerful owls, but essentially we have to teach them everything their parents would have,'' Ms Hall said. ''Flying, just like walking, is a learned skill and, just like a human toddler, fledglings will often come off second best as they test their limits.''

The zoo's staff will also teach the owls how to recognise, catch and eat prey, their staple food being the ringtail possum.

Like many native birds, the loss of habitat and fragmentation of appropriate nesting sites has threatened their survival.

A zoo spokeswoman said that while it was unclear when the owls would be released back into the wild, the aim was to make it happen as soon as possible.

Comments

On 2009-11-12, Em from New Hampshire wrote: "This artical is so nice! It's good people are saving owls, not killing them.:) "

Comment on the above News article.