An injured common barn owl was found in a house in Selaiyur, Tambaram, on Sunday morning and later taken to the zoo in Vandalur.
It was nursed by the house owner’s family until it was taken by Forest Department staff to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park.
R. Ekambaram, who owns a furniture sales and service shop, is a resident of Sri Ranganathan Nagar, First Street, Agaram Main Road, Selaiyur. After being woken up by the feeble calls of the bird around 4.30 a.m. on Sunday, he found the adult owl perched on a window sill.
ADVERTISEMENT
The owl was severely injured on its left wing and was nursed by Mr. Ekambaram’s family who wrapped a wet towel around it. They subsequently informed the forest department and staff from Tambaram Range took the bird to the Vandalur zoo.
The common barn owl ( Tyto Alba ) is found in the city fringes along farmlands as well as Reserve Forest areas. The Nanmangalam RF is home to the Indian horned owl. There have been a number of instances in the past, where common barn owls have been rescued from homes and industrial units around Tambaram. On one instance, a team of personnel of the Railway Protection Force rescued an injured owl from their police station.