Interfering with the Order of things - Saving a Animal

[Lance Peters]

On my way to work this morning - found a Barn owl (Not common in our area) in the gutter on the side of the road being attacked mercilessly by Crows and Magpies.

Pulled my car over and tried to chase the crows away - unfortunately the Owl flew off as well - with the crows in hot pursuit, crows forced the owl to ground in the middle of the road and continued to beat on it.

Long story - cut short - I ended up finding the owl on the ground behind a building surrounded by 4 magpies intend on doing him harm.

SO - I stepped in and rescued the poor little guy- threw a towel over him and picked him up. By this stage he was Oblivious to what was happening.

So now I have him at work with me waiting for the wildlife service to come pick him up.

What would you have done??

Interfered or Not???

No Pictures - didnt have camera with me.

[Chris Ober]

I would have interfered.

[Roy Priest]

Lance, I would have definitely interfered, even if I had to put the animal down later. No creature deserves to be tormented to death.

[Jamie Strickland]

agreed with the others, I think owls are one of the nicest birds and extremely rare so I would have did the same as you

do they think he will survive? hopefully the poor guy can be released into the wild again

[Andrew Merwin]

Lance, you acted appropriately. I would have done the same thing that you did. Well done.
Andrew

[Lance Peters]

Bird is now with the Vet - will find out later on this afternoon the outcome - will let you know.
Fingers crossed for happy news.

[Richard Mc Donald]

Same same, interfered.

And well done mate.

Richard

[Katherine Enns]

Absolutely would have yes. Well done. Barn owls are blue listed here in BC, so considered threatened. I would have taken the owl to one of the bird recovery facilities here, there is one in the valley here my daughter worked for for a summer. very successful at rehabilitating injured birds. Keep it warm, with a heating pad if possible, and find a rehab centre, there has to be one near you somewhere, I hope. Let us know how its doing.

[Lance Peters]

Mr Barn Owl will make a full recovery and be released back into the wild
:)

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Good job Lance. Glad you stopped and helped. I have seen one that was euthanased because it was an immature Barnie blinded by Pied Currawongs so had no hope by the time it came in. Unfortunately, diurnal birds will aggressively harass and try to harm an owl. Seen that myself, though sans camera. :(

BTW for the general population in other parts of the globe:

The Australian Eastern Barn Owl (Tyto javanica) is a far from rare species in the land down under, unlike perhaps in other parts of the world. So we are blessed in that sense.

[Michael Bertelsen]

Lance,

I would have done the exact same thing as you did.
Feel good about what you did, there are not enought of those owls around.

Michael Bertelsen

[Andrew Merwin]

Mr Barn Owl will make a full recovery and be released back into the wild
:)

Good news. I am glad you did this Lance.
Andrew

[Jamie Strickland]

Mr Barn Owl will make a full recovery and be released back into the wild
:)

thats great news Lance :) track it down and ask for some poses for saving its life :D

[Grace Scalzo]

Good decision, Lance, and glad to hear of the outcome.

[James Shadle]

Appropriate or not I would and have done the same thing!

[Rachel Hollander]

Lance - Glad it will make a full recovery.

Rachel

[David Stephens]

Interesting discussion. :) I'm surprised there's so much agreement from a bunch of pro-wildlife guys and gals.

I don't criticize what you did, but I would have left it alone. The crows and magpies need to eat. I probably wouldn't photograph it, yet I would like to catch a Coopers hawk right as it swipes a robin chick out of the nest. As we talk about it some fawn is being ripped apart by coyotes and some moose young is being ripped up by wolves. I think this is as God intended. I only hope that that their deaths are quick and reasonably painless. Have you ever thought of how many animals seem mainly destined for a painful death?

What you did was spontaneous and good hearted. Still, that owl will probably be dead before winter, that's just the odds for such animals. Saving one weak animal won't change the course of survival of the fittest, but I don't think it's what God had in mind for these little ones.

Follow your heart, just don't turn into one of those bleeding hearts in Boulder trying to save the prairie dogs from eagles and tire treads. At least your owl was a little rare and good for the eco-system in their normal numbers. (Unabated prairie dogs would be a horror to behold).

[Ed Grella]

I would have saved it also. Great job!

[Christopher C.M. Cooke]

Well done Lance, send him down to me, our nocturnal visitor (Powerful Owl) was electrocuted in last nights storm when our Hills Hoist on which he waits for me got hit by Lightening.

The kids in the area are burying him latter on today.

[David Stephens]

Peter Kes, when interference has created an unnatural balance, then further interference to correct the wrong might actually be jusitfied. I'm not sure where Lance is, but here in Colorado we have an ample supply of raptors of many sorts, including great horned owls. Around here almost everybody has someone ready to eat them with one wrong move.

Of course, not all is in balance everywhere in the US. Deer populations have been artificially managed for decades and there are pockets around the country where way too many deer exist. Despite their pest status, some people feed them and go beserk at any talk of "culling the herd."

So, lacking any special circumstances, I say let nature take it course.

[John Chardine]

On a one-off like this, sure I'd save the owl. Barn Owls are declining in many places around the world.
Good on ya mate!

[Doug Campbell]

Do any of you folks feel bad for the skimmer that was attacked and eaten by the gull in Arthur's image on the avian forum?

[James Shadle]

Yes I feel bad for the Juvi Skimmer. In this case nothing could be done but photograph the event.

[Andrew Merwin]

Humans are part of nature also. We have the power to impact nature in a positive or negative way. Lance effected nature in a positive way with his actions. I am in total support of what he did. I would, as I have already stated, done the same thing.
Andrew

[John Chardine]

I very much agree with you Andrew. Humans are animals and part of the natural world whether we like it or not. Many of our environmental problems of today stem from the attitude that we are somehow separate from nature. We have to understand that the air and water we pollute, but totally rely on, we share with most other living things on Earth.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Lance,

First: I am happy to hear that the owl is OK and can be returned to the wild.

Second: You saw a situation in which you had options. You chose a path of action and carried though. If you think you made the correct choice then be happy. If you are second guessing yourself, learn from your experience and use that knowledge to help guide your actions in the future. Personally, I support your decision.

As to your original questions, it is hard to say what I would have done in your situation. From what you describe, I would hope that I would have intervened and rescued the owl. Why? It is my understanding that Barn Owls primarily prey on small mammals. Yes, I do know that they will also hunt birds, fish, reptiles, and insects. I make this point as my interpretation of the owl’s behaviors is that they do not pose a significant threat to the survival of crows and magpies. I do not know about Australia but, here in North Carolina the crows are a pest and cause a lot of problems. Owls are few and do more to help maintain the balance. I would not have intervened if the birds were merely chasing a predator away from a nesting area. However as in this case where the defensive action was against a minor threat that would have most likely lead to death, I probably would have acted.

Again it is my understanding that the birds mobbing / attacking an owl as described in this instance was not an act of predation. It was more of a defensive action on a perceived threat (as stated above). If this had been an act of predation to provide a food source for survival, I probably would have not intervened and remained an observer. This does not mean I would not have been without sympathy for the prey.

<O:p
Third: To sum up my response, yes I probably would have attempted to save the owl in this situation. I say probably as until presented with a decision to act or not I cannot say with certainty what my response would be. Within the scope of this discussion, I am not proposing that my opinion or opposing opinions are right or wrong; it is just mine. <O:p</O:p

Respectly,

Phil

[David Stephens]

Do any of you folks feel bad for the skimmer that was attacked and eaten by the gull in Arthur's image on the avian forum?

Yes, but nothing should be done to interfere. Enough skimmers are born to feed the gulls and reasonably assure survival of the species.

[James Shadle]

John and Andrew I agree 100%.
A few years ago I was hired by NOAA to photograph a project they were working on. They were un-doing what they had done years earlier.
Talking with the NOAA project manager he acknowledged that almost all human attempts to modify the environment come with unforeseen consequences.

I summed it up this way and he agreed "History shows again and again how nature points up the folly of men Godzilla!"

David,
I also agree with your statement above. Gulls are predators and young Skimmers are prey.
That is the natural order of things.

[Roman Kurywczak]

......James......that's what "Godzilla" was all about! Men interfering/screwing up nature! Still think I would have done what Lance did!
Someone also mentioned deer.......come to NJ for the roadkill every 2 miles on the interstate. 9 million people in 7,500 sq miles and a species w/ no natural predators (humans took care of that).....feeding on lush lawns and lovely ornamental plants......the car has now become the top predator w/ little impact on the booming population. There may be no "right" answer......so Lance did what his heart told him......good call in my book.

[Lance Peters]

Interesting Discussion - this is for sure.

I did observe for a while and tried to scare the crows away so the owl could fly off - which it did a couple of times only to be forced back to the ground - in the middle of the road - hence I again tried to scare the crows away and the owl flew off - still unable to escape its tormenters - I finally intervened when it was obvious the Owl had nothing left in reserve - was dis-oriented and stunned - surround by 4 crows and magpies and with blood evident around its eye area - it was obvious to me that it would not survive if left - SO I made the decision to save it.

Crows and Magpies are everywhere here were I am - see 50-60 everyday. This is ONLY the 2nd Barn owl I have seen in 12 years (We have a mice plague at present - after 10 years of drought) so that fact was enough to tip me into the action I took.

Would I do it again?? - Cant answer that question - depends on the circumstances!

[Cal Walters]

Humans are part of nature also. We have the power to impact nature in a positive or negative way. Lance effected nature in a positive way with his actions. I am in total support of what he did. I would, as I have already stated, done the same thing.
Andrew

I think Andrew's POV is right on. Humans are part of nature, but with unique capabilities - the ability to both repair and destroy our environment. Really, what is the difference between stepping in to save a single owl and the salt marsh restoration that will benefit millions of birds. Our capacity to care at the level of stepping in to defend a creature outside of our immediate clan is unique, I think. If we are stewards of our environment, I would include this. And as was said, this is not a predator / prey thing. Go forth and save more.

[Katherine Enns]

...... Men interfering/screwing up nature! ... Ahem, we women take part of the blame! :)

Seriously, though as a tox biologist (working on the effects of spills and other indignities) I have to say its really hard to find ecosystems that are not impacted by man in some way. Barn Owls ARE endangered in BC, so comparing thier succour to common species that seem to be able to withstand the constraints we place on biota is not really relevant. So if Barn owls, Lewis'woodpecker, etc can be helped to continue thier own species, and better still have the things that imperil them amended, then so much the better. It certainly doesnt hurt. KE

[Paul Cooper]

I'm surprised no has mentioned the angle of saving weak animals so they survive to breed and weaken the gene pool. I may have done the same as you, but would have conflicting feelings about it, GODZILLA!

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I normally dont try to interfere with nature. However, at times I interfere to save an endangered species. For the rest, it is ok because any animal has to survive. So one animals death helps in giving life to others. Nothing goes waste. That is how nature works.

Crows and feral dogs are a big menace in India. Due to them the vultures lose out . Crows have a habit of following humans (and photographers) and hunt nesting birds/chicks. So I don't have much of sympathy for them.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Susan Griffith]

I would have stepped in as well... i have a soft spot for owls