WildCare Prepares to Release Rescued Owl

A Great Horned Owl that got caught in a fish hook in San Anselmo earlier this month is being prepared for release within the next week after being rescued and rehabilitated at a nearby wildlife rehabilitation center, center officials said.

The WildCare center in San Rafael received a call around 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 about an owl that needed help in a tree, center volunteer Larry Van Cantfort said.

Neighbors reported that the owl had not moved in three days, even when attacked by crows. The neighbors called the Marin Humane Society, which then reached out to WildCare for assistance.

Volunteer Jim Cairnes then climbed 40 feet high during the rainy night and found that the owl had a fishing hook and line that speared its wing and was holding it to the tree branch, center officials said.

Cairnes managed to cut the owl free and a Marin Humane Society officer transported it to the WildCare facility for emergency care.

The center's director of animal care, Melanie Piazza, found that no significant damage had been done to the male bird's wing and safely removed the hook from it.

The owl remains in the center's care at an outdoor aviary and will be released back into the wild once it builds up its wing strength, Van Cantfort said.

The WildCare center currently is home to six owls, including the Great Horned Owl, and is asking for donations from the public to maintain care for the birds and other animals that are rescued and brought to the facility.

People interested in donating can visit the center's website at www.wildcarebayarea.org.

--Bay City News Service

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