Rare owl dies despite surgery

An endangered short-eared owl, which had been seen as important to the survival of its species has died, despite the efforts of vets to keep her alive.

"Shortie" was discovered in Stourbridge, West Midlands, on Sunday and was treated at Evolution Exotics, in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.

The clinic had hoped she would make a recovery and either be returned to the wild or introduced to a breeding programme.

Vet Marie Kubiak said that after surviving her long surgery, Shortie had started to improve but did not have enough reserves left to keep her going through her recovery.

The bird of prey is a species listed on conservation files as having amber risk status and the clinic said it had not operated on an owl like Shortie before.

After discovering her, a member of the public had taken the bird to The Falconry Centre in nearby Hagley, before she was transferred to Evolution Exotics.

Tests showed the owl had four fractures on two of her bones and a puncture wound to her left eye.

After being moved to a recovery cage, the clinic said she had suffered "a very sudden decline".

It said she "sadly just didn't have enough reserves left to get her through this challenging stage".

The clinic said her death was "devastating news"

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