An intern in zoo, exotic animals and wildlife medicine from Denmark has been earning her wings at the Atlantic Veterinary College this past year.
Literally.
Dr. Adriana Nielsen released a snowy owl today, with a background of flurries and some 30 people watching, from behind the AVC.
When the owl is released, it will give the bird a new hope, after being found by wildlife officers in Cornwall about a month ago.
The young owl, under a year old, was skinny and had been attacked by crows.
After a month of being supported and fed by Nielsen, as well as Dr. Marion Desmarchelier, of the AVC’s Zoo, Exotic Animals and Wildlife Service, the owl is ready to spread its wings.
“He’s gained a lot of weight,” said Nielsen. “He’s been flying very well in the flight cage and navigating very well so I expect that he’ll just take off.”
While the release will give the owl a new opportunity in its life, so too does the internship that Nielsen has been studying under at the AVC.
The internship is the only one in Canada under the direct supervision of a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine, Desmarchelier. There is also only a few such positions in the United States.
Nielsen graduated with her doctor of veterinary medicine from the University of Copenhagen in 2008, before working in a mixed private practice in Denmark for two-and-a-half years.
Making the move to P.E.I. has given Nielsen much more opportunity to practice her specialty, as she said, “most of the wildlife (in Denmark) is taken care of by biologists”.
“We don’t see as many large birds of prey in Denmark and I don’t think there are any wildlife veterinary positions,” she said.
In fact, the AVC has been the first place where Nielsen has worked with a snowy owl, as well as many bald eagles.
“The first time I had to catch the eagles, it was a little bit intimidating. But I got the coaching from doctor Desmarchelier, so I got used to it very quickly,” she said.
Nielsen’s release of the owl Friday went off without a hitch, as she held the bird and explained a bit of background about the species to the crowd.
While known as a migrant, the snowy owl’s migratory movements are predictable and are believed to be related to the abundance of it’s main prey, lemmings, at the time.
Desmarchelier also emailed The Guardian saying the last snow owl irruption, a sudden increase in the local population of a species, was the winter of 2005-2006. Since lemming populations are cyclic, going through peaks of high and low abundance every three to five years, this seems to be a statement to their influence over snowy owl migration.
The owls are rare to see on P.E.I., but have been spotted in much more southern locations in the U.S.
Nielsen reminded the crowd that if they see a snowy owl with abnormal behavior it’s important to report it. This includes if the owl looks tame, which usually means they are weak.
Nielsen’s stay at the AVC will be quite a bit longer than the owl’s. She’ll be finishing her internship around the start of July.
“I like it a lot. I spend most of my time at the university, but it’s a really good program,” she said. “I’m learning a lot and that’s why I came here.”
The work with snowy owls and other wildlife at the AVC is supported by the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre. The AVC takes care of raptors and other threatened species from N.B. and N.S., with donations from the public always welcome.
