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.

手术后的X光片影像 X-ray film of the eagle-owl after the surgery

三省志愿者接力救雕枭

文/梁传松

一只年幼雕枭疑在捕食时左腿骨折，在中国中部的湖北省蕲春县境内意外被人发现。为保护好这只国家濒危动物，一场跨越东西三省的救助行动拉开序幕：从蕲春运至武汉，再到江苏徐州做手术，最后转到山东菏泽，四地拉力，穿越1000多公里。

5月1日，湖北省蕲春县村民发现一只状似猫头鹰的大鸟，送交林业局野生动物保护站。这只大鸟看人时眼光凶猛，却不能飞，也不吃东西。野保站负责人李强随即在网上发布了求助信息。

不久，“中华鹰匠”的两名成员小洪和小李与李强取得联系。“中华鹰匠”是中国一个知名民间组织，为飞禽走兽提供及时的救助和保护，成员活跃在全国各地。当日，他们驾车将伤鸟从蕲春接到武汉。专家鉴定，这只伤鸟学名叫雕枭，是国家二级保护动物。

据小洪介绍，这只雕枭头部绒毛还未褪完，表明它尚未成年。鸟飞不起来，显然是腿部受伤。随后，小洪和小李找到武汉一家动物医院，但该院没有这方面的手术经验，不敢轻率为雕枭做手术。他们买回新鲜牛肉，一口一口地喂它，同时，在“中华鹰匠”群内继续求助。很快，山东菏泽市“鹰匠猛禽救护中心”负责人李海洋回信说，他可以找到救助医院。经他联系，江苏省徐州市润珑宠物医院愿意为雕枭提供免费手术。为了及时救治雕枭，李海洋建议直接将雕枭送至徐州进行手术。

因火车禁止携带活体猛禽，小洪和小李带着受伤雕枭驱车赶往徐州。5月4日晚，到达徐州润珑宠物医院。此时，雕枭状况已经很差，医院医护人员立即为它输液补充能量。经X光检查，雕枭左腿胫骨骨折。院长宗猛分析，雕枭年幼，可能是捕食时用力不当而导致受伤。第二天上午，准备充分后，宗猛和兄弟宗超、宗盖一起为雕枭进行手术。数小时后，雕枭苏醒了，体力也有所恢复，它瞪眼看着手机镜头，不时发出“咔嗒咔嗒”的威胁声。

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)

雕枭手术中 Doctors performing surgery on the eagle-owl

因该动物医院没有住院部，雕枭被接至菏泽市“鹰匠猛禽救护中心”。在救护中心志愿者的精心照料下，雕枭恢复得很快。6月下旬，雕枭完全康复，李海洋请来科技公司，为雕枭装上GPS定位器以跟踪保护雕枭安全。6月26日晚，李海洋和几位志愿者在黄河边放飞雕枭。放飞时，李海洋心里有些不舍，但他知道，大自然才是鸟儿真正的天堂。”

“通过跟踪GPS信号，发现雕枭活动情况良好。”李海洋说，经过一个星期的观察，这只雕枭已逐渐适应菏泽的自然环境，每天都在扩大活动范围。

宗猛给受伤雕枭清洗患腿 Zong Zeng cleaning the broken leg of the eagle-owl