On November 8th we were phoned about a Snowy Owl that was found on a beach near Port McNeil, BC. The bird was no longer able to fly due to emaciation and exhaustion from a long migration south from the Arctic, where food sources are not sufficient for the population this year. Port McNeil is more than three hours north of MARS and we scrambled to find someone willing to drive partway down to meet us so that we could get the owl as soon as possible. We put the call out on Facebook and Twitter and, showing the power of social media, our local CHEK News reporter noticed the post and called the local CTV Vancouver Island News reporter, who was in the Port McNeil area. In the end, Gord Kurbis, of CTV was able to drive the Snowy Owl right to MARS so it could receive treatment fairly quickly.
Unfortunately, this Snowy Owl did not survive, due to extreme emaciation and exhaustion. Starvation is very difficult to treat and these patients are very delicate.