After two weeks of special care and treatment by the rescue team at KFBG Wild Animal Rescue Centre, a Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) recovered well from injuries caused by a fishing line and fishing hook, and was successfully released back to the wild in suitable habitat.

AFCD staff discovered the owl struggling in a New Territories Reservoir on 3 Nov 2019. It was entangled in a fishing line and suffered a slight injury to its left-wing. It was rescued by the SPCA and delivered to our Rescue Centre for treatment.

Our Rescue Team performed a health check and carefully removed the fishing line and hook. It was unresponsive to visual stimulus on arrival which was apparently a stress related behaviour. The owl was eventually moved to a large flight enclosure where it became much calmer and was able to exercise. After 2 weeks of veterinary care, it was flying well in the flight enclosure and its physical condition was good. It passed its final release assessment and was ready to go.

On the day of release (18 Nov 2019), the Brown Fish Owl which is uncommon in Hong Kong, flew well and without any hesitation back to the wild (see video).

If you encounter any injured or sick wild animals, contact the SPCA Inspectorate at 2711 1000 or the AFCD at 1823 for animal rescue assistance. The KFBG Wild Animal Rescue Centre cares for native injured wildlife in collaboration with the SPCA and AFCD. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at fauna@kfbg.org.

Photo Credit: SPCA(HK) (bottom right), KFBG (left, top right)