ROCKY VIEW COUNTY— Helping an injured bird once again fly, the Cochrane Ecological Institute recently participated in a project that saw three veterinarians collaborate to rebuild an owl's broken wing.
A short-eared owl named Cactus recently came to the Institute from the Peace River area, said Cochrane Ecological Institute president Clio Smeeton.
When Cactus first arrived at the Institute it was unclear if he would ever fly again.
“A guy found him on the side of the road and then drove him all the way down here,” Smeeton said.
Cactus had a wing that had been destroyed, and Smeeton was unsure how to help the owl heal.
Fortunately, the Institute was able to team up with Airdrie-based veterinarian Cody Creelman who brought in fellow Ponoka veterinarian Trevor Hook and British Columbia-based veterinarian Evan Crawford.
The trio worked together to restore and rebuild Cactus’ wing.
“They did amazing stuff,” Smeeton said. “They did really astonishing veterinary work. They made him essentially an extra bone to fix where his bones were all shattered.”
Hook said it was not an easy task to rebuild Cactus' left-wing as the injury was an old and chronic fracture of multiple bones.
"He was in pretty rough shape," Hook said. "The injuries are so severe amputation was considered as a treatment plan for him."
The veterinarians were determined to save the wing, Hook said, so they could provide Cactus with a better quality of life once the surgery was completed.
In preparation for his surgery Cactus stayed at the Institute healing for months so he would be strong enough for the operation at the Central Veterinary Clinic in Ponoka.
The surgery to restore the wing took about two hours.
"The good thing about owl wings and bones is they're not very big," Hook said with a chuckle. "You don't have a lot of room for a lot of hardware."
The veterinarians worked together to rebuild parts of the left-wing, Hook said, and they managed to preserve as much of the wing as possible.
The veterinarians used an external fixator allowing them to stabilize the bone from the outside of the wing. Small pins were used to stabilize the physical bones.
"Basically, you're building a cast on the outside of the wing that's really tiny but strong because you don't have a lot of bone to work with," Hook said. "The little cast reinforcing on the outside of the bird is then built into the wing bones to stabilize that fracture site until, hopefully, it will heal."
Hook said they are optimistic Cactus will begin to heal and he will return for a check-up eight weeks after the initial surgery. During the follow-up appointment, the external fixator will hopefully be removed if the bone is healing properly.
Helping Cactus was an especially neat experience, he added, because short-eared owls are an endangered species in Canada.
Hook is no stranger to helping wounded animals— While in veterinary school he was part of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Crew and worked on all kinds of wild birds. Since graduating he has continued to work with wildlife including deer and wild birds.
While he appreciates having the opportunity to help Cactus recover from his injury, Hook said, the issue ultimately comes down to habitat conservation and "keeping the wild places wild for these birds."
"Fixing one wing on one bird doesn't go a long way on the overall conservation efforts, but every little bit helps and raising awareness is always good," Hook said.
Cactus' wing restoration is a valuable project, he said, because it can draw people's attention to the need for conservation. He hopes people will support preserving the environment for birds like Cactus.
"We were sure proud and honour to support the Cochrane Ecological Institute," Hook said. "We had a lot of fun and Cactus is a pretty amazing little bird."
Cactus is one of many animals the Cochrane Ecological Institute helps— Another bird Hero came to the Institute in a unique condition, he was found injured lying on the side of the road last summer.
He had a head injury and there were no feathers on the top of his head, Smeeton said. She added the damage ran down his back between his wings and he was unable to stand up on his own.
“The worrying thing was his legs and his feet were stone cold,” Smeeton said. “Often when you get them in and their legs and feet are really, really cold and he couldn’t stand up it means that they’ve been electrocuted.”
It was strange, she said, because Hero did not have a black burn hole on the bottom of his feet that is usually associated with an electrocution.
Veterinarians came out and debated if Hero should be down, Smeeton said, but he was such a fighter the Institute was determined to give him a chance to heal.
Hero gradually began to stand and perch on his own and in the fall he was once again able to fly.
“He’s still got a bald spot on top of his head,” Smeeton said with a laugh. “But, We couldn’t give him a toque.”
In the spring they are hoping to see if he can hunt on his own and hopefully grow his 2021 set of feathers.
It has been a challenging year for the Institute due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smeeton said, but they remain committed to helping animals in need.
It has been a strange time of year she said because typically they would have European students on-site conducting research. This is not possible right now because of COVID-19 border closers.
The Cochrane Ecological Institute receives no funding from the provincial government and largely care for the animals on-site through donations.
The Happy Trails Pet Retreat is the main source of funding for the Institute, but it has taken a hit during COVID-19 because people are not taking vacations.
“We’re open for business and happy to have them but nobody’s skiing it’s too cold,” Smeeton said with a laugh.
Donations to the Cochrane Ecological Institute can be made through its website and tax receipts are available.
