After four months of care and rehabilitation at Ohio Wildlife Center, a snowy owl that had been hit by a car on a busy Columbus highway was released back to the wild on Friday, March 2, 2018.
The female owl had been rescued on the shoulder of the I-270 outerbelt in November by a Columbus driver who took the injured raptor to Ohio Wildlife Center’s free Wildlife Hospital for treatment. It had wing and eye injuries and spent several weeks at the Hospital before being transferred to the Center’s Pre-Release Facility to begin its rehabilitation in flight skills and catching prey.
Snowy Owl Release (2) from Ohio Wildlife Center on Vimeo.
The snowy owl’s appearance in Ohio is rare as they typically breed in the arctic tundras of Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia. Ohio Wildlife Center records indicate it is the first snowy owl admitted to the hospital in at least 15-20 years. They are the largest owls in North America, with five-foot wingspans and a preference for open areas and daytime hunting.
Ohio Wildlife Center, working in cooperation with the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the United States Department of Agriculture, set up the owl’s release at a state wildlife area near Wyandotte and Marion Counties north of Columbus. The raptor has been banded to potentially provide information on migration patterns and to aid in research. Assistance in assessing the owl’s vision and ocular injuries was provided by Dr. Metzler at Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Medical care addressed head trauma, lesions in the retina and a wing fracture. The female raptor was provided with nutrition and pain control as well to allow healing to return to full flight and hunting capabilities.
“Her injuries were serious and she would have been unable to hunt while they healed,” according to Casey Philips, director of the Wildlife Hospital. “Her head trauma and retinal lesions lessened her vision and that also had an impact on her ability to hunt and fly,” she added. With cage rest and supplemental nutrition, the owl’s recovery progressed through her transition time at the Pre-Release Facility where Center staff and volunteers continuously monitored her status.
Because snowy owls typically spend summers hunting in the arctic regions of Alaska and Canada and favor flat, wide open spaces with few trees, the Ohio release site offered a vast area of fields and wetlands. Wildlife Center staff are expecting that the raptor will ultimately migrate back to the arctic tundra areas where the owls breed.
“This is an exciting and fulfilling moment for everyone at Ohio Wildlife Center who worked toward the successful recovery and release of this snowy owl,” said Dusty Lombardi, executive director of the Center. “Our free community Wildlife Hospital provided the crucial care in an emergency situation and our goal from the beginning was to see this snowy owl fly to freedom.”
Sitings of snowy owls increased in the Midwest this year because periodic southern migrations of snowy owl flocks, called irruptions, have occurred recently in areas around the Great Lakes. In 2014, an irruption was cited for more than 150 sightings of snowy owls across Ohio.
The emergency care and rehabilitation provided by Ohio Wildlife Center’s free Wildlife Hospital is made possible through charitable gifts. Ohio Wildlife Center is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization that receives no operational funds from state, federal or local government. To make a gift to help native Ohio wildlife receive crucial care and treatment after injury or illness, click here.