Fugelhelling bird shelter has rescued an eagle owl. The rare and largest owl in Europe was stuck in an electric fence and was rescued by a shelter volunteer.
The eagle owl was found in Papenvoort and is doing ‘quite well’, says bird sanctuary manager Hetty Sinnema. “The leg is swollen. Now we have to wait until the swelling subsides and see what the function of the leg is.” This is a male specimen of about 50 centimeters, probably an adult.
Wild eagle owls are rare in the Netherlands, although they are becoming increasingly common in the border region. “They are on the rise. They are also found in Gelderland, Overijssel and Limburg.”
Sinnema cannot say exactly how many there are in Drenthe. “But there are at least several breeding pairs in Drenthe.”
For that reason, the bird shelter has also contacted the Drenthe eagle owl working group. “The male could be part of a breeding pair. Moreover, he is not ringed and this offers the opportunity to release him ringed.”
Because of the entanglement in the electric fence, the animal remains under supervision for an extra long time. “I’m not yet convinced that there is no damage internally.”
When the eagle owl has strengthened sufficiently, it is given rehabilitation therapy and when its flight muscles have been rebuilt, it is released. “These decrease in a small cage. After this, the eagle owl is moved to a large flying cage to rebuild its flight muscles. This way we can be sure that it will be successful when it goes hunting in the wild again. There is no point in having a bird that relies on hunting, to release it when it cannot hunt well. It must be able to fly optimally.”