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An Adorable Rescue Owl Found In A Ditch Was 'Too Fat To Fly'

Mary-Jane Wiltsher

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An Adorable Rescue Owl Found In A Ditch Was 'Too Fat To Fly'

Featured Image Credit: Suffolk Owl Sanctuary

An adorable rescued owl was labelled "too fat to fly", according to a Suffolk sanctuary.

The owl, who was brought in by a landowner, was found in a ditch and initially thought to be injured.

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But on further investigation, staff at Suffolk Owl Sanctuary discovered the bird was "simply extremely obese" and "unable to fly effectively" as a result. Awwww.

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The rescue owl is - a little ironically - a member of the 'little owl' family (also known as Athene noctua) but was found to be much chunkier than other members of breed.

In fact, when staff at the sanctuary - which is based Stonham Aspal - weighed their new feathered friend, they discovered she was almost a third heavier than the average healthy female little owl.

That's some serious weight gain. According to the sanctuary it's "extremely unusual for wild birds to get into this condition naturally".

The owl was found to be roughly a third heavier than the average healthy female little owl (Credit: Suffolk Owl Sanctuary)
The owl was found to be roughly a third heavier than the average healthy female little owl (Credit: Suffolk Owl Sanctuary)
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Luckily, other than her weight issues, and being a little "soggy" after her time in the ditch, the plumptious owl was in good health.

The sanctuary put her on a "strict diet" to slim her down to a healthier size of 245g, which is the "natural weight" for birds of her kind.

Over a couple of weeks, the little owl lost 20g and 30g as staff kept a close eye on her food intake. Happily, she has since been released back into the wild.

So, how did the owl get so chonky to begin with? Turns out, she was feasting on voles.

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Head Falconer Rufus Samkin said: "Where she was found is very productive land, and it's been a mild winter and there's a lot of food around - voles, mice.

Head Falconer Rufus Samkin believes the owl was feasting on mice and voles during the mild winter (Credit: Suffolk Owl Sanctuary)
Head Falconer Rufus Samkin believes the owl was feasting on mice and voles during the mild winter (Credit: Suffolk Owl Sanctuary)

"We think she's just done incredibly well for herself and overindulged."

"We may see her again - we hope not," continued Mr Samkin. "Hopefully, she's learnt to keep her weight in trim so she can escape any predators or being picked up."

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Overindulged in the winter? Fair play 'lil' owl, haven't we all.

Topics: Life News, Animals

Mary-Jane Wiltsher
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