Home \ News \ Read News

Four Owls Released Into Central Park

May 18, 2007

Four owls rescued as babies were released into Central Park on Thursday night.

The four weeks old screech owls were discovered almost two months ago, dehydrated and abandoned, and were handed over to park rangers.They were too young to fly or to hunt independently so they were taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center outside the city.

At the center, the owls were served a diet of bugs, rodents and chicken parts, but they weren't allowed to see who was feeding them so they wouldn't become dependent.  They eventually strengthened their wings and learned to fly.

Screech owls, which are about the size of guinea pigs, are native to New York but disappeared from Central Park more than 60 years ago, likely because of overuse of pesticides and other poisons, or possibly because of changes in their habitat.

But the parks department has reintroduced more than 80 owls since 2002, and there is now a well-sustained breeding population, Benepe said.