The owl cages at Marlboro Combined School in Marlboro are now empty after the birds flew off on their mission to contain Alexandra’s rat menace.
This was after the birds, brought in as owlets by the council under much criticism due partly to cultural taboo, grew from their meals of dead chicks. They were feed by school children whose love for nature enabled them to nurture the birds until they were ready to tackle the rats threatening lives of children and posing health hazard to residents.
The owls have joined a small remaining owl group introduced sometime ago, after some of them were alleged to have been killed by persons not keen to see owls curb the rat menace. Although there are only a few owls to eradicate the huge rat population, they add to other efforts of rat cages, fumigation and the environmental health programmes which encourage good health and hygiene practices to deny the rats breeding places in the home and neighbourhood. Other efforts are through the cleaning up work of community development workers and also recyclers who generate income by hauling away discarded waste – inadvertently eliminating potential breeding spots for the rats.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a person associated with the school said while the owls are now well into their mission, the children also gained knowledge through an 11-week training course on caring for them. Also, this helped to dispel misconceptions and myths about the owls. The training also inculcated in the children a culture of caring for nature and the environment and by default, other human beings who are also part of the ecosystem.” Occasionally, it’s said that the owls are sighted on tree tops in the school grounds.
