We recently had a feature on why are many Barn Owls white, and the story mentioned some are much more red/brown, so I found this one to share.

From Jaguar Rescue Center

Whooo is this?

Last week, this little barn owl needed our help. He was found in the middle of a road in Limón, and the people who found him reported that he was hopping around but struggling to fly.

Thanks to our X-ray machine, our vets discovered a fracture in his right shoulder. They bandaged the wing to prevent further damage and to aid recovery. In addition to his injured wing, he was also skinny and dehydrated, so we provided him with fluids, and he has been eating through a feeding tube.

He is currently in quarantine at our hospital, where he will stay until he regains full mobility in his wing. Afterward, he’ll move to our rehabilitation area, where we’ll monitor how well he can fly.

We will keep you updated on his rehabilitation progress. In the meantime, remember that you can make an impact on the rehabilitation of animals like this barn owl by donating.

      • anon6789OP
        4•5 days ago

        He’s really proud of all those long appendages! 😁

      • anon6789OP
        2•4 days ago

        That’s what they said!

        • kamenLady.
          3•4 days ago

          Amazing how it can be so expressive ( the first photos, on the orange thingy ) and then completely devoid of any expression, just eyes checking you out.

          • anon6789OP
            4•4 days ago

            It’s all bright in the clinic and it’s hurt and doesn’t know what’s going on in the orange towel pics.

            In the crate, it’s likely feeling at least a little better from getting its wing set and some fluids back in its system, and now has the energy and wherewithal to be its natural, feisty self again.

            Most posts I read say and angry owl is a healthy owl! 😆 Sounds a bit counter-intuitive to social creatures like us, but owls thrive with their solitude.

            Somewhat tangential, but with the comments about “baby schema” over the weekend, I was reading if that scientist had done any work with owls, and while he didn’t, he had an interesting story about a fellow scientist trying to breed domesticated owls.

            The guy sounded like he was imprinting the owls to people, possibly himself, and the owls would be good with people due to the imprinting. The problem arose though was what to do next. Due to being human imprinted, the owls saw themselves as somewhat human, and displayed all their mating attention with the paired human. This certainly doesn’t result in ending up with new, domesticated owls though.

            When placed with other owls of their kind, they were really hesitant to bond with the opposite sex owls to make new owls. Some eventually would mate, but if that original bonded human ever showed up to the aviary again, the bonded owl would go crazy at its actual owl-mate and try to drive them off, as they were bonded harder to their human imprint. Seemingly the classic owl monogamy is pretty strong! So without being able to keep the human bond and the owl bond, the project went nowhere.

            I didn’t think that was enough for a full post. Maybe I can look into it more, but even that bit I thought was quite interesting.

            • kamenLady.
              2•4 days ago

              Sounds a bit counter-intuitive to social creatures like us, but owls thrive with their solitude.

              I can relate, I’m introverted. Being in the office, surrounded by people all day, is exhausting. I’m glad when I’m home and can be alone, during this time i can think & recharge my batteries. At least, that’s how it feels like.

              The human imprinting is interesting. I heard about the owl monogamy. I wonder if other, also monogamous animals, would behave similarly.

              • anon6789OP
                2•4 days ago

                We still generally have a person or 2 we do like to see, even if not all the time.

                Most of these owls though understand another raptor as something that could cause one or both of them to starve or be without a safe shelter.

                I haven’t seen too much specifics on owl relationships, but it sounds more of a truce to achieve a common goal than a friendship/romance. Most don’t seem to spend much time close together unless they’re actively nesting, otherwise they have too many competing goals.

                • kamenLady.
                  2•4 days ago

                  Somehow relieving to know that owls may also make their relationships more complicated than they need to be.

    • anon6789OP
      8•5 days ago

      A big happy face to start the day!

    • anon6789OP
      2•4 days ago

      Appreciate you sharing a link. I’ll always do them if someone asks, I just don’t want to make it seem like I’m the one asking you for things.

      I’ve got some great news international owl stuff coming as part of my goal of diversifying a bit more.