Injured brown fish owl flies after 3 weeks of treatment

KOLHAPUR: A two-month-old brown fish owl, whose tibia bone was fractured after it fell on the ground, was able to fly again after animal lovers came to its rescue.
They not only rescued the bird but also gave it proper treatment in time to heal the broken bone. On Friday night, it was released into the wild after the broken bone had completely healed.
Rohan Bhate, wildlife wardon, Satara district said, "Three weeks ago, a farmer noticed the injured bird lying beneath a tree in his farm located on the bank of Krishna river in Supane village in Karad taluka and handed over it to animal activists Sanjay Patil and Rohit Kulkarni."
The duo brought the injured bird to Bhate's office and an examination revealed that the bird's leg was injured. The bird was taken to orthopaedic surgeon and bird expert Aniruddha Dixit after informing the forest department, Satara.
"He took an x-ray of the bird and found that its tibia bone was broken. The injured part was plastered and we kept it in a situation where it could do least movements so that it could recover fast," said Bhate.
The bird was regularly fed around 250 grams of fresh boneless chicken and fish along with doses of multivitamin, calcium and steroid drops. On Friday, when the doctors removed the plaster and it was confirmed that the bird could stand on the broken leg and it could fly.
"After confirming on Friday evening, the bird was released at the spot from where we had picked it up. It immediately flew in air," he said.
Detailed reports about the developments of the bird mentioning its release have been submitted to the forest office, Satara immediately.
The brown fish owl (ketupa zeylonensis) species of owls are typical owls found in Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia. They are found around water reservoirs, water canals and on the outskirts of villages and grabs food by gliding over water bodies, he said.