IN PICS: Rescue owls’ wings clipped after fire cuts part of sanctuary

A fire that ripped through a well-known Hartbeespoort owl sanctuary has caused damage to the tune of at least R300 000.

Owl Rescue Centre co-founder and communications manager Danelle Murray said 12 owl enclosures were destroyed in the blaze.

Fortunately, they were pre-release enclosures, where owls that have already completed rehabilitation are preparing for their final release into the wild.

Murray was about 400km away transporting a young baboon to a private sanctuary in Tzaneen when the fire broke out.

The owls affected were able to fly away when staff opened the enclosures.

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The fire started on the farm next to the sanctuary, jumped fire breaks and ripped through part of the Owl Rescue Centre.

AfriForum reacted quickly and helped put out the fire.

“If it wasn’t for them, the damage would have been extensive, and would have moved to the other part of the property with patients still recovering and being closely monitored. We are fortunate that there was no damage on that side.”

A number of rescued owls live and breed at the sanctuary, and are support-fed while they adjust to living in the wild permanently.

The enclosures that were destroyed are large aviaries built over treetops, Murray explained.

She said these enclosures are created to prepare owls for reintroduction into the wild by getting them used to the elements and the area where they will live.

So far, no dead or injured owls have been found, with Murray and the team placing water in the burned area.

She said some barn owls even returned to the area where their enclosure used to stand.

Each enclosure costs about R20 000 to build.

In addition to these enclosures burning down, the Owl Rescue Centre’s water taps and electrical cabling was also burned and a JoJo tank was damaged.

How to help

If you would like to assist in rebuilding the Owl Rescue Centre, be sure to keep an eye on their Facebook page for their volunteer day on 25 September.

You can also donate using the following details:

Owl Rescue Centre NPC

Nedbank Current Account 103 0819580

Branch Code 198 765

Reference: Fire Fund

Or: PayPal.me/OwlRescueCentreNPC