Obese owl too fat to fly, put on strict diet

Photo: Instagram

New Delhi: A little owl nicknamed Plump broke the internet when it was revealed that she had become too fat to fly, and has since spent a few weeks at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary in the UK, which put her under observation and placed her on a strict diet.

View this post on Instagram

This soggy little owl was found in a ditch. Usually in these instances we assume injury that is preventing the owl from flying – occasionally becoming wet causes them to become grounded too – so you can imagine our surprise that when we examined her, we found her to simply be extremely obese! Upon weighing her, she was a rather chunky 245g (which is roughly a third heaver than a large healthy female little owl) and she was unable to fly effectively due to the fatty deposits. This is unusual for wild birds to get into this condition, so we needed to investigate some obvious scenarios – the first being that she was possibly an escaped aviary bird. Sadly there was no indication of rings or chip identification. We decided to observe the bird over a period of weeks for signs of a life in captivity. Familiarity with foods used in aviaries such as bright yellow chicks (which won’t often be found naturally in the English countryside) are a telltale sign. Luckily, there were no giveaway signs as she was readily taking more wild food types such as dark mice, so we are confident this may just be an unusual case of natural obesity! We also found that the area where she was rescued was crawling with field mice and voles due to the warm and wet winter we experienced in December. She has since spent a few weeks with us under observation and been placed on a strict diet. We can now happily say she has trimmed down to a more natural weight for release. . . . . . #suffolkowlsanctuary #owlsanctuary #animalsanctuary #suffolkwildlife #owl #buzzard #eagle #hawk #kestrel #meerkat #redsquirrel #conservation #wildlifeconservation #wildliferescue #animalrescue #birdsofprey #animalrehabilitation #suffolk #falconry

A post shared by Suffolk Owl Sanctuary (@suffolkowls) on

In an Instagram post, the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary wrote, “This soggy little owl was found in a ditch. Usually in these instances we assume injury that is preventing the owl from flying — occasionally becoming wet causes them to become grounded too — so you can imagine our surprise that when we examined her, we found her to be simply extremely obese!

View this post on Instagram

This little owl was found beside a road. We suspect she has had a collision with a vehicle as she is showing signs of concussion. She will remain in our care until we are satisfied she has made a full recovery, ready to be returned to a safe location near to where she was found. It’s important that birds with suspected concussion stay with us long enough for us to feel confident they are over the trauma of the impact. We will observe her behaviour on a daily basis for signs of improvement. Interestingly, this is the second little owl who we have recently had in our care, that has had an unusually ‘healthy’ body fat distribution for a wild owl! Due to the mild and wet weather in December and early January, we suspect there is a higher activity of insects, worms and rodents that these owls are feasting on! . . . . #suffolkowlsanctuary #owlsanctuary #suffolkwildlife #owl #buzzard #eagle #hawk #kestrel #meerkat #redsquirrel #conservation #wildlifeconservation #animalrescue #birdsofprey #suffolk

A post shared by Suffolk Owl Sanctuary (@suffolkowls) on

 




“She weighed 245 gm on admission to the sanctuary -– around a third heavier than a large healthy female little owl and she was unable to fly effectively due to the fatty deposits.”

View this post on Instagram

(*Sound up!*) “GOOOOOD MORNING!” What a fantastic few days it’s been for Suffolk Owl Sanctuary! Our internationally famous rescuee ‘Plump’ the little owl continues to reach all corners of the globe…but closer to home, our very own ‘Woody’ was a (rather noisy) star, featuring on none other than @bbcradio1 yesterday morning with @greg_james! If you’d like to adopt this little celebrity, please take a look at our website. Your donation will go towards a number of projects aimed at the preservation and conservation of owls and other birds of prey in the wild. . . . . . #suffolkowlsanctuary #owlsanctuary #animalsanctuary #suffolkwildlife #owl #buzzard #eagle #hawk #kestrel #meerkat #redsquirrel #conservation #wildlifeconservation #wildliferescue #animalrescue #birdsofprey #animalrehabilitation #suffolk #falconry

A post shared by Suffolk Owl Sanctuary (@suffolkowls) on

“She has since spent a few weeks with us under observation and been placed on a strict diet. We can now happily say she has trimmed down to a more natural weight,” it added in the post.

As the owl lost weight, the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary released her back into the wild. The sanctuary shared a post with the caption, “Wow… what a little star Plump has turned out to be! Here she is upon release, flying…”

As the news came out in the public domain, social media was filled with reactions.




A user wrote, “Wonderful news. Let’s hope she sticks to her diet out in the wild. Them mice are very fattening. Lol.”

Another wrote, “Interesting to see how much more obesity will be seen among wild animals with the warmer temps. I wish I could blame my weight gain on it.”

A post read, “Excellent! Let’s hope she lays off the pies from now on.”

IANS