Barn owl chicks fallen from nest in Coimbatore gated community shifted to Forest Department aviary
V. Saanthakumar, rescue and trainee head at Coimbatore-based non-governmental organisation First Heart Foundations Network, said the barn owl chick were rescued from a gated community at Ganapathy.
Representatives from the community informed him that the chicks were found fallen from their nest in the apartment building. They contacted him to rescue the nestlings as cats and crows could disturb or attack them.
Mr. Saanthakumar rescued the chicks and handed them over to the Coimbatore range office on Mettupalayam Road. The owl chicks were moved to the avian recuperation centre on the campus, where birds in distress are nursed and taken care of.
He said that the nestlings appeared to be around 40 days old and they were yet to fledge.
A source from the centre said that it had successfully nursed barn owl nestlings and released them in their natural habitat in the past. The source added that parent birds normally continue to attend to their displaced nestlings when they are kept back into the nest.
The Forest Department's Coimbatore office can be reached for the rescue of wild animals, birds and snakes in distress at 0422-2456922 and 1800 4254 5456.
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