Environment
Passer-by rescues injured owl surrounded by crows at ITE, sends it to Acres Wildlife Centre
Awww.
April 11, 2025, 05:27 PM
One man in Singapore had just dropped off his son at a childcare centre at ITE Headquarters on Apr. 8, when he came across a peculiar sight.
A murder of crows crowding around something on the ground near the building's carpark exit.
Speaking to Mothership, Chia Aik Chuan said the scene "got [his] attention", and upon taking a closer look, realised the subject of the crows' interest was a tiny owl.
Photo from AC Chia/FB
He decided to park his car and retrieve the owl.
The owl was "in fear and got frightened" when he approached, and he realised it was injured as well.
One of its eyes was shut tight.
Chia then placed the owl in a plastic container he had in his car, and proceeded to call the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres).
However, he shared that he was unable to reach them, and thus decided, with owl in tow, to take the time to travel to the Acres Wildlife Rescue Centre at Jalan Lekar himself.
Photo from AC Chia/FB
Boobook is under Acres' care
There, Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan identified the bird as a northern boobook.
It is considered a rare migrant, according to Birds of Singapore, and hails from east Asia.
Photo from AC Chia/FB
Kalai told Mothership that the owl is still under Acres' care, and has shown "tremendous improvement" over the past 36 hours.
"We are confident that he will fully recover soon."
Photo courtesy of Acres
In a video Acres shared, the owl's right eye appears fine now.
Video courtesy of Acres
Kalai admitted that the team is unsure what could have caused the boobook's eye injury, but suspects that it was due to a collision with a wall or window.
This not uncommon among birds, which are unable to identify windows as a reflective surface.
Acres added that it has rescued several boobooks recently, as individuals are currently migrating and passing through Singapore.
Members of the public can call the Acres Wildlife Rescue Hotline at 97837782, or the National Parks Board at 1800-476-1600 if they see wild animals who are injured or in distress.
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Top photo courtesy of Chia Aik Chuan
