Pakke Tiger Reserve, 28 March 2020 : It was a routine work day for Ayushman Singh, Assistant Field Officer at IFAW – Wildlife Trust of India’s Center for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC), Pakke Tiger Reserve. Crossing the Pakke river from Seijosa to reach CBRC in his daily commute that morning, his attention was drawn by the hails of Rasam, a Forest Department Mahout tending his elephant charge on the river bank.

The mahout had seen an owl falling into a concrete water tank and had brought it out of the water, he knew of the wildlife rescue work being done at CBRC and felt the CBRC team could possibly help in reviving the bird.

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It was an Asian barred owlet, cold and unresponsive after its accidental plunge in the water tank earlier in the day. Ayushman immediately called up the nearest WTI’s Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Madhurjya Bikash Bora and WTI’s Head Veterinarian Dr Bhaskar Choudhury and following their advice the bird was wrapped in a small towel and gently wiped dry to avoid the setting of hypothermia. It was then taken to CBRC, Pakke and kept warm and dry in a straw filled box and under observation for 24 hours.

By next morning, the owlet had revived, torn the edges of the box and was ready to fly.

“This is definitely a happy moment for me, this being my first bird rescue in my five months in Pakke. It was a great feeling to see it flying back to the wild. We released it the next morning near Pakke river where it was rescued” mentioned a beaming Ayushman.

IFAW – WTI’s CBRC at Pakke has been rehabilitating Asiatic black bears and has handled other wildlife that needs intervention since 2003.