Viral Photos Capture Rescue Owl’s Reaction To Bath Time
A tiny rescue owl is going viral for his hilarious reaction to bath time!
The little morepork owl was brought into the Massey Wildbase in New Zealand, a wildlife hospital, research and rehabilitation center.
The wildlife center shared about the bird on Facebook, explaining that when the bird arrived at the center, he had “scurfy/flaky skin” and testing revealed he was covered in cocci (bacteria).
To help him clear up his condition, staff at the center gave him a bath, and let’s just say, the morepork wasn’t pleased.
Wet Wednesday all round for us in Palmerston North!!🤣this morepork is with us for rehabilitation but we found it had…
Posted by Wildbase on Wednesday, March 31, 2021
In the post, they explained that they washed the bird with Chlorhexidine to help with the bacteria, and then they rinsed him clean. They explained, “This is a similar technique we use for oiled birds and have the set up to do it.”
Based on the bird’s face, it’s safe to say he wasn’t thrilled.
The rescue center said that “After a few hours under the blow dryers” the bird was “looking spiffy and ready to try out his clean feathers and skin back in our rehab aviaries at Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery with the hopes of releasing soon.”
According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation, moreporks can be found throughout forests on the mainland in New Zealand and on offshore islands. Measuring just 29 cm from head to tail, moreporks may be small but they’re feisty.
While they’re not classified as threatened or endangered, moreporks are impacted by predation and loss of habitat. As the Department of Conservation noted: “Morepork are still considered to be relatively common but it is likely that numbers are in gradual decline due to predation and loss of habitat.”
