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A helpless juvenile spotted wood owl at Pasir Ris Park recently found itself stranded with no means to get home.

Owl, far from home

If you don't already know, a group of spotted wood owls have been calling Pasir Ris Park home.

Making it their nesting ground, two of these owls even became proud parents in February 2022, hatching two adorably fluffy baby owls.

As time passes, these young owls get ready to leave their nest, but like most living things, tend to stumble once in awhile.

A Mothership reader, Angie, witnessed just that on Dec. 23, when she chanced upon a fledgling spotted wood owl that was stranded while on her morning stroll at Pasir Ris Park.

The fledgling, which appeared to have fallen to the ground, was far from its home, which was a long ways up amongst the tree branches.

Clawed its way up tree

In one of the videos that Angie shared with Mothership, the despondent fledgling appeared at a complete loss, pondering its next move while on the ground.

But it's not for the lack of trying, as the fledgling, determined to find its way home, can be seen clawing its way up the tree.

Unfortunately, it did not make much progress and quickly grew exhausted.

Even then, the determined fledgling maintained a firm foothold on its position on the tree.

Good Samaritan spotted the owl

All of this happened while Angie, and a few other spectators, watched from afar.

It turns out that they were all waiting for the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres) to arrive.

Angie told Mothership a Good Samaritan, a man who was the first to spot the stranded fledgling at around 7:30am on Dec. 23, had called Acres for assistance.

Worried that the fledgling would come into harm's way, Angie, the man, and his wife decided to watch over the fledgling for the next one or so hour until the professionals arrived.

Acres swooped in to rescue and reunite fledgling with parents

Acres' co-chief executive officer Kalai Vanan attended to the call for help, and personally inspected the fledgling.

After assessing that fledgling was not injured, him and his colleague, Adrian, quickly got to work.

Kalai placed the fledgling on a wooden perch, which was fashioned out of a tree branch.

The perch was attached to a self-made metal contraption, a telescopic carbon fibre pole that can extend up to 13m, which was just one of the many tools and techniques that Acres have come up with over the years to reunite various species of wildlife, Kalai said.

Slowly and carefully, Kalai lifted the fledgling up to its nest, finally returning it back to its home up and reuniting it with its parents at around 9am.

What to do if you see an animal in distress

Commenting on the incident, Kalai said the Good Samaritan did the right thing as the best thing to do would be to reunite the fledgling with its parents.

As the fledgling is still young, it stands the best chance of survival with its parents.

He advised the public to call the Acres' 24-hour rescue hotline on 9783 7782 should they encounter a stranded owl or other animals in distress.

Alternatively, they can call the National Parks Board (NParks) Animal Response Centre on 1800 476 1600.

The public should never attempt to bring wild baby animals home, as they are not pet animals, Kalai said.

In the same vein, Angie said she shared the incident with Mothership as she wanted to raise awareness about what to do when encountering a stranded animal.

In such situations, individuals should observe the owlet from afar, for the bird's and more importantly their own safety, as the owl's parents are never far away.

About spotted wood owls

The spotted wood owl is listed as a critically endangered animal in Singapore.

This species was first seen in Singapore in December 1985 in the central catchment forest followed by a breeding record in August 1986.

The spotted wood owl has been found at several other sites and their population is estimated to be fewer than 30.

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Image and videos courtesy of Angie