Trapped eagle owl freed from barbed-wire fence at sewage treatment plant

Jennie Rhodes

Tuesday, 22 March 2022 | Updated 24/03/2022 20:22h.

An eagle owl was rescued this morning, Tuesday 22 March, after it became trapped on the fence of Colmenar’s sewage treatment plant. Raúl González, a technician who works for the provincial water consortium, spotted the animal as he approached the plant.

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“I could see that it was stuck on the fence and it looked like its wing was broken,” he said. González, 44, called the Guardia Civil who helped him remove the bird. “I was a bit worried that it might try to attack, but it was very calm, it didn’t move at all. The poor thing was in a lot of pain. Fortunately the police gave me some instructions” he said, adding, “I’m very glad to have saved its life.”

The officers took the owl to CREA - Centros de Recuperación de Especies Amenazadas (recuperation centre for endangered species) in the Montes de Malaga, where the biologist Ana Naranjo explained that the adult male eagle owl had suffered a broken wing and damage to a claw. The team of biologists and vets also had to remove wire that the owl had become trapped in and disinfect the injuries it had sustained. Naranjo hoped that the owl would recover but that it was “stressed and in pain.”

Naranjo went on to explain that owls are more active at this time of year as they have babies and she thinks it may have been returning to a nest after hunting for food for its young.