From South African Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
Mornay De Doncker clipped in for what was meant to be a standard ride.. dodge traffic, bunny-hop potholes, and try not to become part of the road furniture on the N17.
No heroics, just pedals and perseverance.
Then.. mid-ride, mid-thought.. he saw a problem.
A grounded Spotted Eagle Owl, doing that worrying half move where there's just enough life to catch one's eye... but nowhere near enough lift to take off. Mornay didn't hesitate.. he braked, turned, and went back. (Strava won't give you points for that, but life does.)
He scooped her up.
And then reality hit harder than a headwind on a hill climb..
You're on a bicycle.
You're still 40 minutes from home.
And you've just picked up a murder chicken with an unreliable thought processor.
No saddlebag for this kind of cargo.
Thinking faster than a downhill sprint, Mornay pinned his location and phoned his wife Sheryl. Sheryl, clearly no stranger to chaos, immediately got hold of Judv.
Following the quick chat and description, Judy locked the clinic up and launched like she was chasing a podium finish.
Meanwhile, Mornay had time trialled it home, swapped two wheels for four, and he and Sheryl were back on the road.. because apparently this was now a relay race.
But Judy had already crossed the finish line. With the owl secured, and the crisis contained, a message was sent to Sheryl: "Got her!!"
Back at the clinic, Judy went full pro.. head-to-tail assessment, no shortcuts.
Nothing obviously broken, but the poor girl was thinner than a cyclist at the end of race season.
A look inside the mouth sealed the concern.. her
mucous membranes were pale enough to make us nervous. Internal bleeding? Poison? Both firmly on the table.
No dithering.
Treatment for concussion started immediately, plus detox support .. cover the bases, buy time, give her a fighting chance!
And then, (because wildlife loves a comeback) within two hours, Miss "lights are on but nobody's home" was upright, alert, and giving Judy the kind of suspicious stare that says, "I don't trust you, but I'll allow it."
Fluids were working. Brain rebooting. Attitude slowly fully restoring!
She's still in with Judy now, being fussed over like royalty.. quiet, careful handling, proper nutrition, and zero expectations other than get better. Next stop, if all goes well: the aviary for further monitoring, a bit of weight gain, and eventually... back to the wild where she belongs.
Mornay, you absolute legend.
Your 20 year route just changed an outcome! That owl, stranded in a terrible spot on the N17, was running out of road in every sense of the word. You hit the brakes when it mattered most. That's a solid, hard earned #Another1Saved.
Photos by Morney de Doncker
One day, we overheard the rehabber on the phone taking a call from someone and from the conversation we were really puzzled what the heck kind of animal it was the person on the other end was talking about. It turned out someone had a peacock running around in their yard.
Not being a native animal of the US East Coast, we had to deny their request for us to "rescue" it, and I believe it ended up being recommended they talk to their neighbors to find out who had their bird escape.
We get some wild calls from people sometimes.... ๐