An owl is recovering from a broken wing after he was found by a State Police trooper on the side of Interstate 90 East over the weekend, police said.
On Saturday, Trooper Michael Golenski observed an injured northern spotted owl on the highway near near Auburn, said State Police spokesman David Procopio. The northern spotted owl is a threatened species, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The trooper notified the Massachusetts Environmental Police and left to respond to reports of a disabled vehicle nearby, Procopio said. About 25 minutes later he returned to where he originally found the owl, which was still struggling. Golenski waited with the owl until the Environmental Police arrived, who took the bird to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
The owl was sedated and underwent surgery for a broken wing, said Tom Keppeler, associate director of communications for the school.
“He had a fracture in his humerus,” Keppeler said. “[As of today] the owl is bright, alert, and doing fine.”
The bird is being kept in a small cage to prevent him from trying to fly. As he heals, his cages will get bigger and bigger until he is let into the 100-foot “flight cage,” Keppeler said. Staff are hoping the animal can be released back into the wild at some point.
“The goal among our veterinarians, students, and staff is always to return wildlife to the wild whenever possible,” Keppeler said. “But it’s too early to tell. ... It was a tough fracture for an owl to undergo, but he got to us quickly thanks to the good work of the people on scene.”
Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/10/who-got-rescued-the-mass-turnpike-owl-that-who/g6f8IE5NwOg5d66izD9lvK/index.html
