What's New and Exciting...
See what Grassroots members are doing in North Carolina and elsewhere.
See what Grassroots members are doing in North Carolina and elsewhere.
North Carolina Grassroots Science Museums Collaborative Dr. Fran Nolan, Executive Director c/o North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences 11 West Jones Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27601-1029 919.733.7450 Extension 260 |
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Barred Owl released back into the wild at Greensboro's natural Science Center
Two Grassroots Science Member facilities worked together on Saturday, February 21st to release a
Barred Owl back into the wild. The Carolina Raptor Center (www.carolinaraptorcenter.org) nursed and
injured Barred Owl back to health and coordinated a release with The Natural Science Center of
Greensboro (www.natsci.org) This is the third Barred Owl release at the Natural Science Center's 400
acre compound as thus far all seem to be a success.
Here is some information about the bird that was released on Saturday.
The primary release candidate is a barred owl. It was admitted on Nov 21, 2008 with severe damage to
the right eye and a fractured left femur (No doubt from a collision with something) This owl was stabilized
for 2 days then underwent a 2 hour procedure to repair the fracture. Dr. Dave Scott, DVM placed an
intermedullary pin in the femur. That is a pin that runs down the central canal of the bone from the hip
towards the knee. These fractures take much longer to heal in general and this one was no exception.
Dr. Scott did finally remove the pin 8 weeks later and he was moved outside to get back into flight shape.
The healing process was monitored with radiographs taken every 10 days. Due to the delicate nature of
the fracture, the bird had to be under general anesthesia for each x-ray.
Due to eye trauma, he is completely blind in his right eye. This bird just graduated from “Mouse School,”
where our birds prove that their vision is good enough to hunt live prey and maintain their body weight
without any other food source.
On average, it cost $500.00 to rehabilitate each raptor. Without Carolina Raptor Center’s care, this bird
would not be releasable back into its natural habitat.
Barred Owl back into the wild. The Carolina Raptor Center (www.carolinaraptorcenter.org) nursed and
injured Barred Owl back to health and coordinated a release with The Natural Science Center of
Greensboro (www.natsci.org) This is the third Barred Owl release at the Natural Science Center's 400
acre compound as thus far all seem to be a success.
Here is some information about the bird that was released on Saturday.
The primary release candidate is a barred owl. It was admitted on Nov 21, 2008 with severe damage to
the right eye and a fractured left femur (No doubt from a collision with something) This owl was stabilized
for 2 days then underwent a 2 hour procedure to repair the fracture. Dr. Dave Scott, DVM placed an
intermedullary pin in the femur. That is a pin that runs down the central canal of the bone from the hip
towards the knee. These fractures take much longer to heal in general and this one was no exception.
Dr. Scott did finally remove the pin 8 weeks later and he was moved outside to get back into flight shape.
The healing process was monitored with radiographs taken every 10 days. Due to the delicate nature of
the fracture, the bird had to be under general anesthesia for each x-ray.
Due to eye trauma, he is completely blind in his right eye. This bird just graduated from “Mouse School,”
where our birds prove that their vision is good enough to hunt live prey and maintain their body weight
without any other food source.
On average, it cost $500.00 to rehabilitate each raptor. Without Carolina Raptor Center’s care, this bird
would not be releasable back into its natural habitat.
NC State representative Pricey Harrison does the honor of releasing the Owl.