Owl with clipped wings, unable to fly, gets stranded in Ho Chi Minh City alley for 3 days

In recent days, pictures of the barn owl have sparked a stir on social media. 

Some suspect the bird was deliberately harmed by someone who believed, out of superstition, that owls bring bad luck.

On Saturday, Tran Uyen Nhu, a Ho Chi Minh City resident, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper that she received a report on October 13 about a barn owl that had been unable to fly and had been seen in an alley off Le Van Sy Street in Tan Son Hoa Ward for about three days.

Nhu and her husband rushed to the location shortly after 10:00 pm and found the bird hiding in a bush.

It appeared frightened, hungry and weak, and could only walk and hop.

After catching the bird, the couple took it to a veterinary clinic for a health check and treatment.

According to Nhu, the feathers on both wings had been clipped, and one wing had an injury extending to the bone.

The bird also showed signs of low body temperature and diarrhea.

The barn owl remains under veterinary care and is being monitored.

Although some people have asked to visit the bird, Nhu has declined their requests because it is still frightened.

She hopes the owl will recover and eventually be released back into the wild. 

She also urged people not to regard owls as bad omens, saying that anyone who encounters an injured bird should seek appropriate help rather than mistreating it, clipping its wing feathers and abandoning it outdoors.

The case has drawn widespread attention after images of the flightless owl circulated on social media, prompting calls for its recovery and eventual release into the wild.

A forest ranger who examined the images initially identified the bird as possibly a grey-backed barn owl, a species listed in Group IIB under Vietnam’s regulations on endangered, precious and rare forest plants and animals.