this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2025
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For owls that are superb.

US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now

International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com

Australia Rescue Help: WIRES

Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org

If you find an injured owl:

Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.

Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.

Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.

If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.

For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.

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From SW Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke

Wink!

Meet BADO 2025-0134, the Barred Owl! (Strix varia)

This beautiful owl came to us the way many patients do: As a victim of a vehicle strike. Like most owls, they enjoy hunting by roadsides at night, since the open roadway is the perfect place to spot a scurrying rodent and swoop in for the kill!

Unfortunately, though, nature didn't give them the innate instinct to look both ways before flying into the road, leading to catastrophic consequences. After all, Barred Owls have existed for at least the last 11,000 years... Cars have only been around for about a century! This sudden change in their ecosystem is brand-new, geologically speaking.

Owls' heads are about 60% eyeball, meaning that any head injury probably also causes an eye injury. Such was the case for BADO 2025-0134, who came in with limited vision and numerous ocular injuries. Their left eye improved, but the right eye continued to decline, resulting in its removal through a procedure called evisceration.

For most raptors, losing an eye is a death sentence. They require both eyes for depth perception, which is critical when you spend your time hunting for prey on the wing!

For owls, though, their freaky ears (we say this endearingly) are the key to surviving with only one eye! One ear is set slightly lower on their head, while the other ear is set slightly higher. This causes a very slight difference in when sound waves hit each ear, allowing the owl to triangulate the exact location of their prey in complete darkness!

Missing an eye still isn't an ideal, but adult owls with experience hunting can and do adjust to their handicap with their super-powered hearing. And so far, BADO 2025-0134 is doing well in adjusting to their new "outlook" on life! With luck, they will be a candidate for release back to the wild very soon.

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[–] its_prolly_fine@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That is so cool that he is a candidate for release! I did not know that!

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

Head/eye injuries can be so serious to owls since those eyes make up so much of their heads and they tend to often smack face first into whatever they hit. We just lost a cute young Screech due to a double eye injury. It's so amazing to see ones like this Barred have another opportunity to be able to live out its full natural life after such a disaster. It really makes me love the owls and the care providers even more for their stubborn persistence.