SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. \u2013 Wildlife rehabilitators are trying to save the life of a great horned owl found tied up inside an empty seed bag and left on the side of a West Michigan road.<\/p>\n
Conservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are investigating possible animal cruelty of the wild raptor, which was found Dec. 6 in South Haven Township. The female owl was reportedly discovered tied inside a bag, with a plastic zip tie fastened around one ankle so tightly it restricted blood circulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bag was thrown in the ditch of someone\u2019s front yard, and when they went to remove the seed bag, they found the owl inside,\u201d said John Pepin, DNR spokesperson. \u201cThe individual drove the owl up to the rehabber who reported it in case we have had or do have any more issues like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wildlife rehabilitators at West Michigan Wildlife Center in Grand Rapids were the first to care for the wounded owl, treating the bird with fluids, pain medication, foot soaks and by carefully removing the zip tie with wire cutters normally used to remove fishing lures from turtles. A veterinarian also discovered that the owl is blind in one eye but couldn\u2019t determine the cause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen weird things. I\u2019ve seen possums with arrows through them. I\u2019ve seen some animals put into small boxes for different reasons. But I\u2019ve never seen a raptor hog tied. That\u2019s very unusual,\u201d said Allyson Swanson, the center\u2019s founder and director.<\/p>\n
Related: Cougar walks away from vehicle collision in the Upper Peninsula, DNR says<\/a><\/p>\n The owl has since been transferred to the Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center in Eaton Rapids for long-term care. The founder and director of Wildside said the owl is receiving around-the-clock medical care, but the bird\u2019s prognosis remains guarded.<\/p>\n \u201cHer foot is extremely swollen, and my fear is that it may be the beginning of gangrene. The infection smells bad, so she\u2019s on pretty strong antibiotics, and we\u2019re doing foot soaks and ankle soaks every day. She\u2019s on strong pain medication also,\u201d said Louise Sagaert, who has been a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for 30 years.<\/p>\n She said this isn\u2019t the first time she\u2019s seen wild raptors treated cruelly by humans, but this case is particularly upsetting. She suspected someone had been illegally keeping the owl in captivity and abandoned it when the bird\u2019s wounds caused swelling and infection.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sense is that they probably had this bird as a young bird, they put the zip tie around her ankle, just to show that it was theirs in case she got away or whatever. And then they never did anything to it. They never took it off. They never made it bigger. It got tightened or she pulled on it, and it got tighter,\u201d Sagaert said. \u201cAnd then it grew into her leg to the point where it was strangulating her foot.\u201d<\/p>\n She confirmed that at this time blood is circulating in the owl\u2019s swollen foot, and the bird has some ability to move its toes. \u201cThat is a huge positive for her. If we couldn\u2019t get any movement out of it, I would say it was a lost cause,\u201d Sagaert said.<\/p>\n Related: Michigan cherry growers found nature\u2019s perfect orchard guardian, and it has talons<\/a><\/p>\n The owl doesn\u2019t have any broken bones and is being fed by hand at the wildlife rehab center. If the bird\u2019s wounded foot doesn\u2019t heal, she will be euthanized according to federal wildlife regulations.<\/p>\n Sagaert said even if the female owl\u2019s wounds fully heal, she wouldn\u2019t be released into the wild. Instead, the owl would be permanently housed at another nature center as an ambassador bird, used for educational programs to teach the public about Michigan wildlife.<\/p>\n First, the owl must survive, though. Right now, the bird isn\u2019t behaving like a typical predator bird and seems to have a broken spirit, Sagaert said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just look at this bird, and she is defeated. It\u2019s very, very sad. You look at her, and she just lies in your arms. She doesn\u2019t really try to get away, she doesn\u2019t really try to move, she doesn\u2019t really try to grab you,\u201d she said. \u201cShe just kind of looks at you, like, \u2018What are you going to do to me?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did an owl do to deserve this? I don\u2019t get it,\u201d Sagaert said, her voice breaking.<\/p>\n Related: Raptor sanctuary proposed for new 200-acre park in Northern Michigan<\/a><\/p>\n Officials reported that someone had cut \u201cair holes\u201d into the empty 50-pound bag of whole corn kernels where the owl was discovered. The empty grain bag was from Producer\u2019s Pride, which is a brand of cattle, sheep and goat feed commonly sold at retailers like Walmart and Tractor Supply.<\/p>\n Officials said there were no witnesses or cameras recording in the area where the bird was found. DNR investigators don\u2019t currently have any leads into who may have harmed the raptor, Pepin confirmed.<\/p>\n However, he said anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call Michigan\u2019s Report All Poaching hotline at 800-292-7800 or submit a report online<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Wildside Rehabilitation and Education Center is accepting donations<\/a> to help cover the costs of long-term care for this wounded owl, as well as other sick and injured animals, including turtles, small mammals, and other raptor species like American kestrels, barred owls, screech owls and turkey vultures.<\/p>\n