Cape Wildlife Center Swoops In to Save the Life of Rare Baby Owl

Cape Wildlife Center has done it again.

The Cape Cod-based animal rescue swooped in to help a barn owl chick that had fallen from its nest.

The wildlife center acted quickly after discovering the little chick had broken his leg.

This isn’t any ordinary owl. Barn owls are very rare in Massachusetts, and this little one is shaping up to be quite the fighter.

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“This is a very exciting finding because barn owls are a species of special concern here in Massachusetts and only have established populations on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard,” said the center online. “This is only the second nest site we have heard of on Cape Cod.”

The barn owl has been under the care of Cape Wildlife Center for the past several weeks. Originally, the hope was to “renest” the chick, but the team quickly discovered the little owl had a broken leg that was starting to heal crooked.

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It was going to be a long road ahead, but due to the rarity of the species, the veterinary team wasted no time in helping.

“Given the special nature of this case, our veterinary team decided to perform surgery,” said the center. “Since then, it’s been a slow progress, with him having almost no feeling in the leg past the fracture site, to him slowly trying to stand on it.”

The veterinary team says this little guy has a long road to recovery, but he is certainly in good hands.