03/29/2024
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A Great-Horned Owl that was found injured shortly after Hurricane Matthew has returned to the wild on Wednesday afternoon.  Ranger Amy Bernhardt said that shortly after the storm she and Park Superintendent Kristen Woodruff received a report of an injured owl.

Maintenance Mechanic Steven Tatum reported the injured owl to Superintendent Woodruff on October 17.  The owl was found near the fire line beside of the bay on the southeastern side of the lake, said Bernhardt. When she and Woodruff located the owl it couldn’t sustain flight and was clearly in a weakened condition. Bernhardt said she and Woodruff captured the owl and the decision was made to transport it to the Cape Fear Raptor Center in Pender County for an assessment. 

“They did an assessment and thought he was a good candidate for rehabilitation,” said Bernhardt.

At the Cape Fear Raptor Center, x-rays were performed and it was learned the owl, who was dubbed “Charlie,” had suffered a broken left and right metacarpus (the little bones at the tips of the wings). Bernhardt said, “These injuries prevented Charlie from being able to take flight and therefore would prevent him from eating, nesting and ultimately surviving.  The center experts decided that time was the best medicine and they let mother nature do the work.  They assisted “Charlie” with grooming and provided him with nourishment.  They repeated the x-rays after many weeks of observation and confirmed that the bones had healed.”

Recently, the Raptor Center contacted Bernhardt and told her that Charlie was ready to go home, back to his environment at the lake. The decision was made to release Charlie near the location where he was found. On Wednesday evening, Charlie returned to his home at Singletary Lake Group Camp after being released by Bernhardt.

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