KARACHI: A group of birding enthusiasts rescued an owl that had been captured in a plastic shopping bag by someone here on Friday.

“It is a beautiful young barn owl,” said banker-turned-birdwatcher and wildlife photographer Mirza Naim Beg, who some years ago started a Facebook group by the name of ‘Wildlife with Dream Merchants’, which has over a thousand members now, who remain in touch regarding anything of common interest.

An active group member, Zeenat Bayat, had got a call from her cousin that an owl was captured by a chowkidar (security guard) and that he was keeping it in a shopping bag.

“She rushed to the place and informed me. The man had to be warned that they were going to report him to a wildlife official if he refused to turn the bird over. Then after recovering the captive bird from the man, Zeenat brought the owl to me in a cardboard carton,” Beg told Dawn.

“The guard had captured the owl from the Cantonment Railway Station area, where there happen to be some very [old] houses and buildings and big old trees. Zeenat’s cousin, who also resides in the area, said that they do hear owls hooting during the night,” he said.

“Owls are night hunters with minimum flight during the daytime when they are usually hiding from kites and crows who can attack them. I have checked the owl. It was in stress but doing well when offered food. These birds prey on rodents but we offered it chicken cut into tiny pieces, which it relished. It was also thirsty and had water. It does not seem to be injured. Therefore I intend to release it today after nightfall,” Beg informed.

He said that he will at first set the owl free in his own lawn. “We’ll be with it and in case it has any issues in taking flight, we will bring it back inside and nurse it back to health until such a day that it can fly. But if it takes flight, that will be great because then it will find its way back to its home,” said the wildlife lover.

Beg added that Karachi has many owls often spotted sleeping in nooks and corners of buildings or on poles.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020