A great update on a patient we highlighted last weekend!
From Raven Ridge Wildlife Center
We welcomed this Great Horned Owl into our clinic on December 30th, and the sight of its poor physical condition deeply concerned our rehabilitator. After careful examination, the underlying cause of the owl’s sickness was identified: a severe case of trichomoniasis (also known as frounce in raptors and canker in pigeons and doves). This contagious disease, caused by a parasite, affects the upper gastrointestinal tract, leading to painful lesions in critical areas such as the mouth. As the condition progresses, it severely compromises the bird’s ability to eat, drink, and breathe.
The responsible protozoan, Trichomonas gallinae, has multiple strains; some produce clinical symptoms while others do not. While primarily affecting pigeons and doves, this disease can also impact raptors and, on rare occasions, waterfowl and upland game birds can be infected. Domestic birds, such as turkeys and chickens, are at risk as well. It’s important to note that this protozoan does not pose a threat to humans.
The good news is that the owl is responding positively to treatment, and its condition is not as dire as we first feared. The bird is full of energy and is eating, which is a strong sign of improvement. We are closely monitoring its progress and waiting for significant healing of the infected area so that we can evaluate any lasting damage and determine the best approach for treating the laceration. Although the rehabilitation process will be lengthy, we are committed to providing this magnificent owl with everything it needs for a successful recovery.
Poor guy! I really hope he pulls through; I know even with improvement, things don’t always work out.
We briefly had a rabbit (I found it huddling under my car one morning before going to work; the fact I was able to pick it up tells you the shape it was in!). It had an impaction which the vet was able to clear, and she lived with us for a few months as she recovered. Very tame - we suspect she was an escaped pet who’d gone native. Anyway, I learned a lot about rabbits in that period, and one thing is that they are not robust creatures. Generally speaking, if something goes wrong, they tend to just die. The vet told us that if you’re a rabbit owner, and your rabbit gets ill, you’ve got about 24 hours to address most problems. I understood their species survival is evolved more around just being a lot of them, rather than being robust.
I think about this a lot when I hear about wild animal rescue. I’m going to guess owls are on the more robust side, since their clutches tend to be small, but still - here’s hoping for him!
It’s sometimes hard to find numbers, but a few of the rescues have put out some basic numbers at the end of the year, and most seem to be able to save about a third of the animals that come in. It was about a third were dead by the time they arrived at the shelter, a third died during treatment, and that last lucky third pulled through.
Learning this stuff makes me a little more appreciative of being a jack of all trades, master of none as a human being. We wish a lot to be able to swim like a dolphin, fly like a bird, run like a cheetah, or be as strong as a rhino. But there have been such evolutionary sacrifices to gain those superpowers. We can’t fly, but we have solid and relatively flexible bones that break clean, not shatter. We can’t run 30-100 mph, but we can run longer distances than most animals, no matter how fast they are. Owls have those big eyes on the front of their faces, right where they’ll smack into anything they don’t see. If they lose vision or splinter a bone, they’re done. If they get sick, they don’t know what a doctor is, and they resist our help as much as possible because they don’t understand.
Clutches are small because they’re predators and most don’t migrate, so they can’t be overunning their territory or they’d just kill each other off, intentionally or unintentionally.
I was a little apprehensive showing this guy initially. I tend to try to avoid the disappointment for people coming here for happy things, but this was such an interesting medical condition. While it’s still not totally in the clear, it’s very encouraging it’s eating vigorously, and I really hope he will be in that lucky third.
Ooof. Well, I guess I’m not surprised. By the time one’s in bad enough shape to let itself get caught, it’s chances are probably already getting slim.
I hope we’ll get a positive update and release note sometime later; if not, at least someone tried their best.
Yeah, that’s why I like when they follow through with updates, I know the owl is still around or free. They don’t often update when they don’t make it but they do sometimes. I share the good news with you all, and the bad news I just hope nobody asks me for an update!
I feel so bad right now for some of my local shelters. We’re having a huge problem with bird flu in the migrating Snow Geese population. Hundreds are dead or dying, and the one rescue keeps getting yelled at by the state wildlife people that are blaming them for breaking the rules, but the state people don’t seem to understand how many the rescue people are having to euthanize on a daily basis, and they’re trying to keep vultures and such away from the contaminated bodies. It’s such a nightmare for people just trying to help.
This is how much some of the lakes are packed with them, and with how contagious and deadly this disease is, it’s really straining local resources.
Wow. Those have to be the most beautiful geese I’ve ever seen, and I feel as if I’ve seen my share of geese. I’m sorry to hear about the problem :-(
It’s been very frustrating trying to follow along, as I feel the public still isn’t getting news about bird flu other than talking about egg prices, so I have no way to judge if the state gov is being overly harsh to the rescuers or not. Both sides say they’re trying to protect the animals and the public, but when they’re at odds, I don’t know what parts of each story is true.
The more stories and videos I’ve been seeing from the rescues is making me worry we should be more alarmed as to the flu, but we’re still in stupid partisanship instead.