One-eyed owl to be released after surgery

A barred owl will be released in eastern P.E.I. Tuesday morning after surgery to remove an injured eye at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown.

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The owl was found in Charlottetown on March 4, weak, emaciated, and injured, according to a news release from AVC. The local property owner wrapped it in a blanket and took it to AVC.

The owl had a severe injury to its left eye. After the owl spent some time in rehab gaining weight, its eye was surgically removed on March 21.

AVC says the owl has shown significant signs of improvement over the last week in particular. The school enlisted local falconer Jamie Stride to help prepare the bird for release.

While it was found in Charlottetown, wildlife technician Fiep de Bie said with the traffic and crows in the city that is not an ideal environment.

"We thought let's give it a good head start and bring it to an area where it's really good habitat for owls an area with bigger trees and that's Macphail Woods," said de Bie.

The birds need large trees because they nest in cavities in trees.

Veterinarians at the college expect the owl will have no difficulty hunting in the wild with just one eye.

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