She isn’t feeling ‘Tipsy’ any more thanks to the hard work of the volunteers at the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls.
The great horned owl ingested a poisonous mouse back in March and lost its vision as well became paralyzed.
Volunteers at SORCO rushed the owl to the veterinarian who was able to give it an antidote; however, it was unclear if the bird would make it.
SORCO took the bird into its care, naming it ’Tipsy’ as the owl took sometime to regain its use of its legs.
Slowly Tipsy’s vision returned and she made a full recovery, allowing to SORCO to return Tipsy to the wild over the weekend.
SORCO manager Dale Belvedere is now warning homeowners about the dangers of using poison to treat a rodent problem.
“When poison is used for a rodent problem it takes several days for the rodent to die after consumption. The poison makes them haemorrhage internally - a very slow, cruel death,” said Belvedere. “Remember that once a raptor, mammal or house pet consumes the affected rodent, it then is poisoned as well.”
Lucky for Tipsy she was able to recover thanks to the rescue and rehab at SORCO, and is reported to be very happily back in the wild.
@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
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