Earlier this year, Canon Canada announced a new two-year partnership with the National Wildlife Centre. Through this partnership, Canon Canada will support the caring for sick and injured wildlife at rehabilitation centres across the country and contribute to the establishment of the NWC Centre of Excellence. We are thrilled to share a recent success story.

On May 18, The Owl Foundation admitted a nestling great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) that had fallen out of a tree. They brought the owl to the National Wildlife Centre two days later. The nestling had an infected wound under its right wing, which the National Wildlife Centre team promptly cleaned and debrided. During the initial exam, radiographs also revealed fractures of the right ulna and radius.

After a few days of receiving antibiotics and pain medications, and its fractures having healed, the owl was ready to return home, and The Owl Foundation renested it with its siblings and parents. Thank you to the National Wildlife Centre and The Owl Foundation for doing such a great job with this little one.

Great horned owls are one of the most common owl species in North America. Also called “the tiger of the sky” because of their great hunting abilities, these owls play a critical role in the ecosystem as a keystone species. Keystone species help maintain local biodiversity by controlling populations of other species. Without owls and other top predators, rodent populations can multiple exponentially and exacerbate their impact in the surrounding community and ecosystem, such as spreading disease and consuming crops.

The great horned owl is not a threatened species, as its adaptability to various habitats and its varied diet give it an important survival advantage. However, human actions can pose an inadvertent threat. Take, for example, littering along a roadway. Litter attracts an owl’s prey; if the owl pursues its prey, it could be hit by a passing vehicle. Inappropriate use of pesticides also poses a risk. Should an owl feed on prey that’s been exposed to pesticides, it could suffer serious health effects.

Canon Canada is proud to work with the National Wildlife Centre to not only help sick, injured and orphaned wildlife in Canada, but also to support the construction of the NWC Centre of Excellence, which will function as an education hub for the next generation of wildlife specialists across Canada.