A young burrowing owl has another chance at life, thanks to the actions of a farm dog in southern Saskatchewan earlier this month. A rancher near Weyburn watched a fox run through his yard carrying something in its mouth a few weeks ago, according to a post by the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan (WRSS) on Tuesday. The guardian dog chased after the fox and when it dropped what was in its mouth, the dog laid down beside it until the rancher came to check what had transpired. A young burrowing owl, one of Saskatchewan’s most at-risk owls, was lying on the ground. The rancher called the WRSS WildLine and the Estevan Field Station coordinated the rescue. “He knew right away that this little guy definitely needed the help that only a licensed wildlife rehabilitator could provide,” said Bonnie Dell, executive director of WRSS. “He did absolutely everything right.” The owl was taken into the rescue society’s care with their rehabilitation partners at Salthaven West Wildlife in Regina. When first receiving the call, Dell said the man was instructed to send a photo of the owl before a rescue team was sent due to burrowing owls usually being “misidentified.” “We often think that [people] have misidentified it because these birds are so rare in coming into rehab,” explained Dell. “They are usually a little silhouette owl that are little tiny owls as well, that people often mistake for being burrowing owls. I had to ask him for a photo before we went any further … and of course he was right.” She added the rescue society has to receive permission from a conservation officer before bringing the rare bird into care. The endangered species can be found in southern parts of the Canadian prairies, according to the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre. The centre’s coordinator, Lori Johnson, said people reporting sightings of the rare bird can make all the difference. “Every sighting that we have that is reported gives us information which is vital for the researchers and biologists who are tracking population numbers,” she explained. “It could also be important just for the individual owls in case they need some extra assistance if they’re injured.” She added that educating the public about burrowing owls may slowly help build up its numbers. “It’s going to be an ongoing battle because one of the main reasons for their declining numbers in the wild is habitat loss and that continues as the human population grows,” she said. “We’re always hopeful that we’re going to be able to down list them off the endangered species list.” The owl is now recovering at Salthaven West. The WRSS said their goal is to release the owl back onto the rancher’s land to give it the chance to return to the wild where it belongs. Burrowing owls are an endangered species who face many challenges, including habitat loss, predation, and human activity. The WRSS asks anyone who finds injured or orphaned wildlife to reach out. “Every single one of them matters when your numbers are that low and that is why we have to contact conservation officers to be able to bring them into care because everyone’s wanting this species to survive and thrive,” Dell said. “I just find it really encouraging that we’re now getting a couple of calls a year as an organization.”
