An Eagle-Owl Rescue Relay across Three Provinces

By Liang Chuansong

While scavenging for food, a young eagle-owl fractured its left leg, and was discovered inadvertently in Qichun County,Hubei Province in Central China.To protect this endangered animal, a rescue effort was carried out that spanned three provinces.Volunteers first sent the eagleowl from Qichun to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei, and then drove it to Xuzhou, Jiangsu for shank-fracture surgery, and finally transferred it to Heze,Shandong, moving it across four cities covering more than 1,000 km.

On May 1, a villager in Qichun,Hubei discovered a large owl-like bird and sent it to the Wildlife Protection Station of the Forestry Bureau. This large bird looked fierce when staring at people,but it could neither fly nor eat.Li Qiang, head of the station,immediately posted an online message asking for help.

Soon, Xiao Hong and Xiao Li, two members of the China Falconer Federation, contacted Li Qiang. The “China Falconer Federation” is a well-known NGO in China. Its members cover the whole country, and the organization aims to provide timely rescue and protection for fowls and falcons. On the same day, they drove the injured bird from Qichun to Wuhan. With an expert’s identification, it was confirmed that the injured bird’s scientific name was Bubo bubo (Eurasian Eagle-Owl), a second-class animal under state protection.

As Xiao Hong said, this eagle owl’s head fluff had not yet completely molted, indicating that it was a young owl, and the bird could not fly because of its injured left leg. Xiao Hong and Xiao Li went to an animal hospital in Wuhan, but the hospital had never dealt with similar cases before, and the vet would not commit to performing the surgery. The two volunteers bought fresh beef and fed the eagle owl bit by bit. At the same time, they continued to ask for help in the China Falconer Federation. Soon enough, Li Haiyang, head of the Falconer Raptor Rescue Center in Heze City of Shandong Province,replied that he could find a hospital to operate on the bird.Through his introduction, they got into touch with Runlong Pet Hospital in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, which volunteered to provide surgery for the owl. In order to cure the injured bird in a timely manner, Li Haiyang advised that the eagle owl should be directly sent to Xuzhou for surgery.

手術后的X光片影像 X-ray film of the eagle-owl after the surgery

三省志愿者接力救雕梟

文/梁傳松

一只年幼雕梟疑在捕食時左腿骨折，在中國中部的湖北省蘄春縣境內意外被人發現。為保護好這只國家瀕危動物，一場跨越東西三省的救助行動拉開序幕：從蘄春運至武漢，再到江蘇徐州做手術，最后轉到山東菏澤，四地拉力，穿越1000多公里。

5月1日，湖北省蘄春縣村民發現一只狀似貓頭鷹的大鳥，送交林業局野生動物保護站。這只大鳥看人時眼光兇猛，卻不能飛，也不吃東西。野保站負責人李強隨即在網上發布了求助信息。

不久，“中華鷹匠”的兩名成員小洪和小李與李強取得聯系。“中華鷹匠”是中國一個知名民間組織，為飛禽走獸提供及時的救助和保護，成員活躍在全國各地。當日，他們駕車將傷鳥從蘄春接到武漢。專家鑒定，這只傷鳥學名叫雕梟，是國家二級保護動物。

據小洪介紹，這只雕梟頭部絨毛還未褪完，表明它尚未成年。鳥飛不起來，顯然是腿部受傷。隨后，小洪和小李找到武漢一家動物醫院，但該院沒有這方面的手術經驗，不敢輕率為雕梟做手術。他們買回新鮮牛肉，一口一口地喂它，同時，在“中華鷹匠”群內繼續求助。很快，山東菏澤市“鷹匠猛禽救護中心”負責人李海洋回信說，他可以找到救助醫院。經他聯系，江蘇省徐州市潤瓏寵物醫院愿意為雕梟提供免費手術。為了及時救治雕梟，李海洋建議直接將雕梟送至徐州進行手術。

因火車禁止攜帶活體猛禽，小洪和小李帶著受傷雕梟驅車趕往徐州。5月4日晚，到達徐州潤瓏寵物醫院。此時，雕梟狀況已經很差，醫院醫護人員立即為它輸液補充能量。經X光檢查，雕梟左腿脛骨骨折。院長宗猛分析，雕梟年幼，可能是捕食時用力不當而導致受傷。第二天上午，準備充分后，宗猛和兄弟宗超、宗蓋一起為雕梟進行手術。數小時后，雕梟蘇醒了，體力也有所恢復，它瞪眼看著手機鏡頭，不時發出“咔嗒咔嗒”的威脅聲。

Because live birds of prey were forbidden from train transport,Xiao Hong and Xiao Li drove to Xuzhou with the injured eagleowl. On the evening of May 4, they arrived at Runlong Pet Hospital.At this time, the bird’s condition worsened, so the medical staff immediately gave it an infusion.After an X-ray examination, it was confirmed that the tibia of the bird’s left leg was fractured. Zong Meng, director of the hospital,speculated that this young eagleowl injured itself while in the act of prey. The next morning, after full preparations, Zong Meng,together with his brothers, Zong Chao and Zong Gai, performed surgery on the owl. A few hours later, the owl awoke and was brought back to full strength. It glared at a lens moving about in front of its face, occasionally chirping a “click-clack” sound.

Because the animal hospital did not have an inpatient department,the eagle-owl was taken to the Falconer Raptor Rescue Center in Heze City. Under the intensive care of volunteers in the center, it recuperated quickly. In late June,the eagle-owl was fully recovered.Li Haiyang asked a technology company to install a GPS locator on the eagle-owl to track and protect it. On the evening of June 26, Li Haiyang and several volunteers sent it back to nature at the bank of the Yellow River.When the little creature lifted its wings, Li Haiyang felt a swell of emotion, but he knew that nature was a bird’s true paradise.

“By tracking the GPS signal,I found that the eagle-owl was active and in good condition.”Li Haiyang said. After a week of observation, it was found that the bird had gradually adapted to the natural environment of Heze, and was becoming increasingly active as the days went by. (Translation:Zeng Penglin)

雕梟手術中 Doctors performing surgery on the eagle-owl

因該動物醫院沒有住院部，雕梟被接至菏澤市“鷹匠猛禽救護中心”。在救護中心志愿者的精心照料下，雕梟恢復得很快。6月下旬，雕梟完全康復，李海洋請來科技公司，為雕梟裝上GPS定位器以跟蹤保護雕梟安全。6月26日晚，李海洋和幾位志愿者在黃河邊放飛雕梟。放飛時，李海洋心里有些不舍，但他知道，大自然才是鳥兒真正的天堂。”

“通過跟蹤GPS信號，發現雕梟活動情況良好。”李海洋說，經過一個星期的觀察，這只雕梟已逐漸適應菏澤的自然環境，每天都在擴大活動范圍。

宗猛給受傷雕梟清洗患腿 Zong Zeng cleaning the broken leg of the eagle-owl