Young Great Horned Owl to be Released

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Back to the Wild – Owl Release Scheduled

Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences invites the public to witness a young owl being released back into the wild on Wednesday, June 10. The great horned owl nestling was found approximately three weeks ago on the ground next to OSU’s Student Union.

“Our Veterinary Medical Hospital and the OSU Police Department both received many calls from the public about this owl,” explained Joao Brandao, LMV, MS, assistant professor of Zoological Medicine. “The owl was brought to our service where we assessed it for injuries. No abnormality was detected via a physical exam and other diagnostic tests such as blood work and radiographs.”

Brandao’s team took care of the owl (pictured above) and then transferred it to a flight cage where she could literally spread her wings and fly in a protected environment.  Her improvement and development progressed as expected and she is now ready to be released back into the wild.

“We invite the public to a short lecture on wildlife rehabilitation with an emphasis on owl conservation starting at 4:20 p.m. in Room 104 at the Veterinary Medical Hospital located on West Farm Road,” said Brandao. “The owl will be released at 4:45 p.m. near the veterinary center’s flight cages located at the intersection of West Virginia Avenue and Mar Vista Street just west of the veterinary center.”

OSU’s Veterinary Medical Hospital treats all species and is open to the public. For more information, visit www.cvhs.okstate.edu or call 405-744-7000 for an appointment.