Viral

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chintimini Wildlife Center, 311 NW Lewisburg Ave Corvallis, OR 97330

Contact:

Heather Gibons, Development Coordinator heather@chintiminiwildlife.org

CORVALLIS, OR— On May 27th, 2025, Chintimini Wildlife Center admitted an emaciated fledgling Barn owl who was found in Brownsville. This Barn owl was found trapped by a barbed wire fence, and finders were able to carefully extract and bring the Barn owl to Chintimini Wildlife Center. Barn owls are a common patient this time of year, and this Barn owl added to the four already in care at the Wildlife Hospital. 

We have seen an outpouring of support for this injured Barn owl on social media (via the finder’s rescue video, which has over 16 million views, linked below) and wanted to express our gratitude for everyone’s concern and care for them. We also want to say a huge thanks for the finder’s support of Chintimini Wildlife Center, and everyone who has shared kind words about CWC and donations (monetary and wish list items) in support of this Barn owl.

They remain in CWC’s Wildlife Hospital ICU, with an extremely guarded prognosis. Barbed wire injuries are severe, and this juvenile owl is also critically emaciated. They are on an extensive treatment plan to fight infection, heal injuries, and recover body condition. The next few days will be critical for this owl’s survival chances, and our staff are doing everything they can. The emaciation is the biggest current concern for staff. 

Chintimini Wildlife Center has a small rehabilitation staff, and over 60 other patients to feed, medicate, and care for. “It’s the busy season, and we receive around 50 calls daily regarding wildlife in need,” says Rehabilitation Program Manager Madison Bennett, “It’s the time of year we are most in need of help from the community to keep us going.” 

Due to the busy season and the number of staff we have (3 permanent staff, a wildlife veterinarian, and 2 seasonal staff), we will only be able to provide updates periodically about this Barn owl. We don’t want to increase the stress on this patient, as Barn owls are notoriously stress-prone patients, and we want to give him the best chance at healing and survival! 

We want to express a huge thank you to everyone who has shared kind words in support or donated towards this Barn owl’s care! In our busiest time of year, this is a huge lift to our team, and we want to relay how much it means to us! 

In order to continue to rehabilitate wildlife such as this Barn owl and so many others, please donate at https://donorbox.org/cwc2025  or purchase items from our Amazon wishlist at https://a.co/47rq2Ek

Original TikTok Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncstan/video/7509372326312594734

Chintimini Wildlife Center Update Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@cwcwildlife/video/7509997537655426350