After he was rescued a week or so ago, Pappa was diagnosed with the Trichomonas gallinae parasite, but it is believed he has now been saved from the deadly disease.
Trich, as it’s known for short, is a parasitic disease that preys on birds, making them weak by preventing them from eating.Trich manifests itself and develops inside a seed, which is naturally common feed for pigeons and doves right around the world.
To be more specific, Trich preferably makes itself at home inside wet or damp seeds which are common during the summer as it is the rainy season. The heat that comes with the summer months helps incubate the parasite inside the seed, which is eventually eaten by a dove, pigeon or another bird, which means that the bird becomes a new carrier of the Trich infection.
A raptor bird then hunts down and eats the infected dove, pigeon, or any other bird which have now become easy prey due to being weakened by Trich, and this leads to the parasite manifesting itself in the raptor. This is what is believed to have happened to Pappa, as he apparently hunted and ate a dove shortly before he was diagnosed with the disease.
Once Pappa was captured, he was taken to the Bryanston Avian, Exotic and Small Animal Clinic for treatment, in the hope that they would be able to save Pappa from the deadly disease. It seems now as if the clinic has managed to do just that as Pappa has had the growth caused by the disease removed from his throat.
According to a post on the Pot Plant Owl Facebook page, “His immune system will be strong and we hope he will have a resistance to Trich”. The post stated that while many might think it a good idea, it’s not an option to release Pappa to the Owl Rescue Centre in Hartebeespoort as “He is territorial and wont be happy sharing and is likely to fly home anyway”.
