An eastern grass owl fledgling that was found injured in Pingtung County’s Yanpu Township (鹽埔) in January has made a full recovery and was released back into the wild on Tuesday last week, the county government said in a statement yesterday.
The owl had strained its wings and was cared for by the Pingtung Rescue Center for Endangered Wild Animals, which is operated by National Pingtung University of Science and Technology.
After three months, it had regained the ability to catch live mice and was subsequently released by a riverbank, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
The eastern grass owl is an endangered species, with an estimated population of fewer than 500 in Taiwan, they said.
As it is active on low-lying farmland, when a fledgling is unfamiliar with flying and hunting, it can encounter many dangers, so the species has a high mortality rate, said Hung Hsiao-yu (洪孝宇), a researcher at the university’s rescue center.
The injured owl was found by a local pineapple farmer surnamed Lin (林), who had taken ecology classes organized by the county government, it said.
He had learned about the eastern grass owl in his classes, but never expected to encounter one in need, Lin was quoted as saying. He was happy that the rescue was successful.
The classes are part of the local government’s participation in the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s “Endangered Species and Important Habitat Ecological Services Benefits Promotion Plan,” in which the county pays farmers to adopt eco-friendly farming practices such as refraining from using rat poison, traps and bird nets, as well as protecting the grass owl’s feeding area.
In 2022, 32 farmers were approved to join the program, increasing to 48 last year, covering a total of 68.65 hectares of farmland, the statement said.
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