On October 4th, the Center received a call about a great-horned owl found on the ground along a local ATV trail. Assisted by the concerned citizen, two of our rehabbers went out and rescued it. Once back at the Center, we found the owl to be very thin, and there was evidence of parasites. Typically, this is the case for many birds that have spent long periods of time on the ground.
Once our rehabbers determined which parasites were causing the problems, they designed an effective treatment program that included a good diet and antiparasitic medications. The owl quickly began to show improvements.
Soon, there was no evidence of parasites, and the owl was moved outside. After reacclimating to the outdoors, it was released back to the wild on November 15th.