New Zealand's Central Energy Trust Wildbase Recovery rescued an owl that was wet with water, and the staff took pictures of the owl before and after bathing, and the contrast was too funny and went viral.
The staff did not describe in detail how the owl got itself wet, whether it was raining or accidentally falling into the water, in short, it was soaked when it was sent to the foundation, the staff re-bathed it with shampoo containing antibacterial ingredients, and then helped it to dry carefully with a hair dryer.
Before blow drying, the staff took a picture of the owl, because the appearance was so funny, it caused a lot of attention as soon as it was posted on the Internet. Many netizens said that it is no wonder that we have never seen owls wet, maybe they themselves think it is too funny and too humiliating...
One of the great characteristics of owls is that they make almost no sound when they fly. Because of such excellent concealment, their ability to hunt has been greatly improved, especially in catching sensitive rabbits, mice and other prey, they have considerable advantages, and for this reason, owls are also known as "the quietest hunters".
▲ Enlarged photo of an owl feather
The owl is able to keep quiet while flying, in addition to the special feather structure of its wings: the fine jagged outer edge, but also another reason: the owl abandons the fat film on the feathers.
This makes their feathers waterproof, but they are relatively fluffy and warmer, and they fly quietly without making a sound.
But that doesn't mean owls are afraid of water, they just don't fly when it's raining, but they also bathe and swim, just like other birds.
Someone in the United States once witnessed an owl swimming in a lake, he observed for a long time, watched the owl swim to the other shore in a unique "breaststroke" posture, and then basked in the sun for a long time until his feathers dried.
In general, owls occasionally go to take a bath, but rarely take the initiative to swim. Scientists speculate that the swimming owl is trying to hide from predators in the sky.
Pet owls themselves take the initiative to bathe, just like sparrows frolicking in puddles after rain, but they will spend a long time drying themselves after bathing. Without the protection of the fat film, wet feathers are prone to breeding bacteria and making owls sick.
There are a lot of interesting things about the owl bathing on the Internet, but there is another part worth talking about behind the picture of this wet owl, which is about the breed of the owl.
▲ Australian Bubuk Hawk Owl
There is a genus of owl called the eagle owl genus, the eagle owl genus has an owl called the southern Boobook, they are widely distributed in Southeast Asia and Australia's Pacific islands, the southern bubuk hawk owl has many subspecies, of which the Australian subspecies has been separated from the southern bubuk hawk owl in 2019 to become a separate breed, called the Australian Bubuk hawk owl. There is also a subspecies of the Australian Bubuk Eagle Owl, and the wet owl at the beginning of the article should be a New Zealand subspecies of the Australian Bubuk Eagle Owl.
Native to Australia, the Maori aborigines call this owl ruru, both boobook and ruru, derived from the call of the Bubuk Hawk Owl.
The Bubuk Hawk Owl is the smallest owl in Australia, they are numerous, there are many subspecies, scientists want to use genetic testing to distinguish between different subspecies, it turns out that these different subspecies of the Bubuk Hawk Owl, there is a natural hybridization, which makes their classification becomes extremely complicated.
In particular, a species called the Norfolk Island Bubuk Hawk Owl has become extinct, but the genes of this breed have been preserved in some subspecies of other Australian Bubuk Hawk Owls, and scientists speculate that before the extinction, some female Norfolk Island Bubuk Hawk Owls could not find their own kind, so they bred with their "relatives", that is, other subspecies.
Scientists themselves have quarreled over how to distinguish the subspecies of the Australian Booker Hawk Owl, because different subspecies of the Australian Bubuk Hawk Owl have always had natural hybridization in the wild, their genes have been changing, and even a pair of offspring born of owls and their parents do not look like each other, so there is no way to classify them...