CBCGDF Volunteers Assist in the Rescue of Two Long-Eared Owls
On the morning of January 24, 2025, volunteers from the forestry and grassland departments of Qing'an County, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, and the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) walked through the thick snow and jointly conducted winter patrols in the county's national key forest areas. When passing by an abandoned hut in Liuhe Farm, they accidentally rescued two Long-eared Owls.
"It's an abandoned house on the mountain. It should have been uninhabited for a long time," said a volunteer of CBCGDF. When the patrol entered the empty house in the forest, they found the two long-eared owls trapped in the house. As a species of owl in the genus Ostridae and Otus, although their eyes look round, they can hardly see anything around them during the day. They mainly rely on hearing to perceive the surrounding environment. When the rescuers approached them, the long-eared owls shook their feathers and fluffed up their feathers to make their bodies look bigger, hoping to scare off the intruders.
The patrol officers took a close look at the two birds and found that they were healthy without any external injuries. They took them outside the empty house despite their struggles and "protests". From the rescue video, it can be seen that almost as soon as the patrol officers let go, the two long-eared owls flew accurately to the dense pine forest that was still lush in winter and hid. It can be seen that their spatial positioning ability is still quite sensitive.
The long-eared owl is a medium-sized owl with two long "ears" (usually invisible) and a distinct "X" shape in the center of the face above the beak. They are a national second-level key protected wild animal and a common resident bird and seasonal migratory bird in northern my country. They like to live in various types of forests such as coniferous forests, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests, and broad-leaved forests. They feed on small rodents such as voles, small birds, and large insects. After winter, most long-eared owl populations will migrate south to overwinter in southern my country and southeastern coastal provinces, and a small number will choose to stay in northeastern and northwestern my country for the winter.
"The reason why these two long-eared owls were trapped in the empty house in the forest is probably that they flew in by mistake while hunting mice. In addition, they were unfamiliar with human buildings such as houses, and the strong light in broad daylight trapped them inside for a while," the CBCGDF research laboratory analyzed, and at the same time expressed gratitude to the patrol officers and volunteers who rescued the long-eared owls in time.
Original Chinese Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/KOQw7pA24zIqEN6mzsT6Lg
Translator: Maggie
Checked by: YJ
Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776
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