On November 1st, 2022, a northern long-eared owl (Asio otus) was admitted to Calgary Wildlife unable to stand. On examination, our team found trauma to both eyes and noted that he was exhibiting symptoms of neurological trauma. Although we do not have a history of what caused his injuries, we suspect that they were caused by some form of blunt force trauma. Our team quickly got to work stabilizing him and treating his injuries.
He was able to stand within the first week of treatment, and his neurological symptoms quickly resolved. During this time, he was kept in quarantine and closely monitored due to the current outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. With further treatment, the injuries to eyes healed, and he was able to be moved to a flight pen to start conditioning prior to release.
After spending two months in care, he fully recovered, was exhibiting beautiful flight, and was ready to be released. On the evening of January 2nd, this northern long-eared owl was released back into the wild as the first patient released in 2023.