From Garden Route Birds of Prey Rehab Centre
What Does Rehabilitation Actually Mean?
We get asked this a lot. “What actually happens when bird comes to you?”
Here is a simple breakdown of what wildlife rehabilitation looks like at our centre.
RESCUE
A bird is found injured, sick or orphaned, often after a vehicle collision, wire strike, poisoning, or nest disturbance. Our team is on call 24/7 to respond across the Garden Route.
ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT
Every patient that arrives is carefully evaluated. We assess the injuries, stabilise the bird, and create a care plan. Birds of prey have very specific needs that most standard vet clinics are not equipped to manage long term. That is exactly why we exist.
REHABILITATION
This is the longest phase. It means restoring the bird’s strength, natural instincts, flight ability, and hunting skills. We are careful never to tame or imprint a newborn bird onto humans, because a wild bird must stay wild to survive after release.
RELEASE
When a bird is fully recovered and ready, we release it back into its natural habitat. This is always the goal. Always.
LONG-TERM CARE
Some birds cannot be released due to permanent injuries. These individuals find a lifelong home with us and become ambassadors in our educational programmes, helping us teach the community about the importance of raptors.
Every step costs time, resources, and love. And we do it because every bird matters.
And they have muppets! . . . Oh wait . . Well anyway. Neat, South Africa: https://www.gardenroute101.co.za/services/garden-route-birds-of-prey
The South African rescues really go to great lengths, literally to help animals. It doesn’t seem there are too many there, and they end up traveling hours to pick up animals. I know Owl Rescue Centre even has a small plane to do their coverage area!
So what kind of owl is this?
It is likely a baby Spotted Eagle Owl. Cape Eagle Owls are the only others that size/shape they have, but I’m not familiar with them enough to spot the differences on the adults when their patterns have grown in, let alone a baby. Cape Eagle Owls are much less common though, so >90% of the time it will be a Spotted.
Here’s a list of the 12 owls of South Africa, and you can likely see these are the only 2 real choices.
They just added a new post. The center has suffered severe storm damage. The birds are save though.
Oh no! 🥺
I am glad they got everyone out safely. I still think about the snowstorm that really destroyed Cascades and they lost one of their owls for a while.
My heart goes out to them. I don’t remember which South African center it was recently, but they were talking about the crucial need to expand because how few and far between wildlife rescues are there. I hope they are back on their feet quickly! ❤️
