I went for a swim by Kiba park to save a drowning owl. He was stuck under a bridge and swimming was the only way to get to him.
Luckly there was an owl cafe business nearby, and the lovely staff said he can take the little guy to care for him.
For future reference, is there a general animal rescue service I should call in these sorts of situations?
I tried googling and couldnt find anything except for a couple of (closed) private animal hospitals. Is there some phone number I should know?
My Japanese gf couldn't find anything online so initially suggested I go to a police station 😩
Also is there any info on clealiness of rivers here? I had a pretty deep wound on my hand from yesterday before I went in, and climbing out on the rusty ladder cut my foot!
Im wondering if theres any particular reason I would need to visit my local clinic?
by MrMakuMaku
11 comments
Cutting your foot is a definite tetanus shot. Well done for saving the owl. What a scene that must’ve been.
Nice one mate!
Although I’d be a little concerned about the owl cafe… I went to one years ago and it was so miserable. All the owls chained on one leg and they all looked so terrified.
Owl cafes are kinda barbaric tbh. Nocturnal animals that are meant to fly are kept indoors under bright lights all day.
For you and anyone else who finds animals in need if help in the greater Tokyo area, get in touch with Mina at AnimO.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1EaqowqTHB/
She looks after a whole range of wild, rescue and death row animal trade animals.
If she doesn’t have space she can point you to someone that does
Police will take care of it as they have contacts to the wildlife people
I have never see a wild owl in Tokyo or Japan for that matter.
If a young woman comes your house and creates cloth for you, accept it, but don’t peak
You sure this owl didn’t escape from that exact cafe and you just sent it back to its prison???
You did such a great thing risking yourself for an animal! It must have been freezing!
JWC are in Tokyo and take care of any wildlife that needs help [https://www.jwc-web.org/](https://www.jwc-web.org/)
They focus on rehabilitation, but also function as a sanctuary for animals that can’t be re-released.
(You can also support them with monthly donations, or by buying them stuff from their wishlist!)
Massive thanks for jumping in to rescue the owl. Not many would have done that. Heroic stuff.
The Japan Wildlife Centre (JWC) in Machida are the most well known institution in the Kanto area. They could take it, and have experience rehabilitating and releasing wild birds. They also perform rescues.
I’ve met a few smaller organizations run by private individuals, but they’re always full and it ends up being a call around until one of the bigger, out of town institutions gets a call.
Unless it’s for stray cats, there’s a good grass roots organization for cat rescue made up primarily of loosely connected enthusiasts.
One thing, it looks like a Japanese Scops-owl which is native, but it may have escaped from the cafe or even have been released (easier to just release unwanted animal rather than re-home or euthanize them) by them. Either way, I’d check up on it if you can.
It’s odd they’d have taken it, tbh. Not sure it’ll have a happy end there.
Maybe call the JWC and see if they’d take it, and then contact the cafe and see if you can get them to release it to the JWC for professional care. If the cafe say they’ve passed it on to a rehabber get the name and think about checking up on it.
Off topic but you need to cut the hair sticking out of your chest
OP, thank you for saving the owl from drowning.
I have previously volunteered in the rehabilitation of wild birds of prey. In the case of Tokyo, the responsibility lies with the Wildlife Protection and Management Division of the Bureau of the Environment.
However, the counter is closed at weekends.
Whilst the owl café may not be the most suitable place for the owl, if that scops owl is uninjured, it should be possible to release it after drying its feathers and get some food.
https://www.kankyo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/nature/animals_plants/birds/faq/#cms2
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I recommend Animo Mina’s Exotic Animal Farm Sanctuary. I’ve personally went there with a wounded bat and she took care of him. She was his only hope as no one else could help, even the wildlife department on my prefecture and all the animal hospitals around here. Japan is laggin way behind on this.
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