From South African Wildlife Rehab Center
It's not often we receive these White face owlets as tiny babies.. Fledglings arrive fairly often, but these itty bitty bundles of fluff (or in this case, "pre-fluff") are rare treasures.
This little character was taken in by Leanne Hezlett after being found and (very kindly but mistakenly) fed mince. Now, mince may fill the belly, but it's missing the critical ingredients... calcium and other nutrients needed to build bones, organs, and the all important owl swagger.
Once in Leanne's care, the owlet was immediately upgraded to a proper five star "owl menu"... one packed with everything her growing body needs. Over the next few weeks, this slightly scruffy baby will morph into a sleek, strong, beautiful night hunter. (In fact, give it a week and it'll be trading its "punk rock chick" look for the classic fluffball cute everyone expects from baby owls).
From there, it's just a matter of time before she is out in the wild, practicing pounces, and proving that those oversized talons really do mean business.
The Owl Rescue Centre has now taken over care of this tiny tot (plus another older White Faced Owlet fledgling). Over the coming weeks, they will ensure both get the best release site, support food, and a fair shot at ruling the night skies as the fierce little predators they were born to be.
Huge thanks once again to Owl Rescue Centre for collecting from us and for making sure even the scruffiest of beginnings can grow into the fluffiest, fiercest of futures.
Such enormous "I'm tired, boss..." energy from such a new lil' guy!
I used to think hatching was a quick thing like on tv, but reading and watching some things, it's often an intense physical marathon kinda thing for a newborn that can take up to 24 hours and there's a number of potential fatal pitfalls!
Here's an old post with a video if you want to see more.