S'pore photographer finds owlet on the ground surrounded by group of curious macaques

A grounded Sunda scops owlet found itself in a precarious situation after it had fallen off the tree.

Law Jia Bao, a wildlife photographer, shared his encounter on Jul.1, 2024 on the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group of a stranded juvenile owl surrounded by a group of curious macaques.

Law told Mothership that the encounter in fact took place in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve in late April this year, a couple of days before the commotion concerning the Telok Blangah owl family began.

Stranded and surveyed by macaques

Law was initially attracted to the sight of a gang of macaques crowding around a small area, seemingly observing something on the floor.

Intrigued, Law inched towards the group to take a closer peek.

The macaques instinctively scattered as Law came close, and he managed to catch sight of their object of interest.

On the forest floor was a tiny, fluffy Sunda scops owlet.

With a round, fuzzy little body, the owlet peered at its surroundings, remaining stationary the entire time.

Law told Mothership that he was intrigued by the unexpected sight, and felt worried for the owlet's safety.

He then decided to stand beside the little owlet for 20 minutes, until the macaques eventually lost interest and left the scene.

Law exclaimed that it was fortunate that the macaques did not seem to display any animosity towards the owlet.

They were likely "as curious and as intrigued as [he] was of the strange bird they have just discovered," Law said.

Unscathed and brought to safety

Law described the owlet to be "injury free, and didn't seem to have any of its feathers ruffled".

He thus suggested that even if the macaques had touched the bird, "they weren't being rough with it".

Speaking to Mothership, Law expressed that he deemed it best to not move the owlet excessively, since it was unscathed and wasn't found in an urban area.

He then located a suitable branch nearby and managed to coax the owlet to perch onto it.

From the video, the owlet appeared to be curiously surveying Law as he moved it around.

Law said that he initially wanted to rest the branch onto an elevated spot of a tree.

However, the owlet was reluctant to get off the branch.

Law eventually placed it slightly off the trails with surrounding trees while the sky gradually turned dark.

Law told Mothership, "Hopefully once it got dark enough, it will make it's way up one of the trees and get back with its parents."

More about the sunda scops owl

This was certainly not the first time a juvenile Sunda scops owl was spotted in Singapore.

The Sunda scops owl is a common resident of Singapore.

It is identified by its dull, buffy brown plumage and a pale brown collar around its neck.

Its underparts are brown with faint black streaks.

With two prominent ear tufts on its head, its forehead and eyebrows are buffy white.

Its diet mainly consists of insects, rodents and lizards.

Top photo courtesy of Law Jia Bao