Miracle recovery: Owl ready to be released after being 40 minutes from death
With a hole in his stomach and riddled with maggots – an owl sanctuary said this beautiful bird was 40 minutes from death.
But after six weeks of care at the rescue centre at Red Lion Farm, he has made a miracle recovery and will be released back into the wild.
Head keeper Andrew Campbell, aged 42, said: "My first thought was that he was about 40 minutes away from death.
"We think he'd been hit by a car and then lay on the ground, which is where he got the maggots.
"He was brought to us by a couple from Cannock.
"What we had to do was assess the situation and then act appropriately.
"Unfortunately we had to do it there and then."
The team at the Owl Experience Rescue Sanctuary in Haughton quickly put the owl on a course of antibiotics and started removing the maggots with tweezers.
The job was hard, because the wild owl couldn't be held with bare hands.
Mr Campbell said: "It took about four days for him to eat, but from there he started to strengthen up. It's a miracle because we were certain that he was going to die."
The sanctuary is holding a fundraising day on October 10.
Entry is £1.50 for children, £2.50 for adults and £6 for a family of four.
