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US Wild Animal Rescue Database: Animal Help Now
International Wildlife Rescues: RescueShelter.com
Australia Rescue Help: WIRES
Germany-Austria-Switzerland-Italy Wild Bird Rescue: wildvogelhilfe.org
If you find an injured owl:
Note your exact location so the owl can be released back where it came from. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitation specialist to get correct advice and immediate assistance.
Minimize stress for the owl. If you can catch it, toss a towel or sweater over it and get it in a cardboard box or pet carrier. It should have room to be comfortable but not so much it can panic and injure itself. If you can’t catch it, keep people and animals away until help can come.
Do not give food or water! If you feed them the wrong thing or give them water improperly, you can accidentally kill them. It can also cause problems if they require anesthesia once help arrives, complicating procedures and costing valuable time.
If it is a baby owl, and it looks safe and uninjured, leave it be. Time on the ground is part of their growing up. They can fly to some extent and climb trees. If animals or people are nearby, put it up on a branch so it’s safe. If it’s injured, follow the above advice.
For more detailed help, see the OwlPages Rescue page.
Community Rules:
Posts must be about owls. Especially appreciated are photographs (not AI) and scientific content, but artwork, articles, news stories, personal experiences and more are welcome too.
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From Napromieniowani.pl
A tawny owl photographed in the window of an abandoned building in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. This is the most numerous owl species in Europe. The difference is that in Chernobyl, as in a reserve, no one disturbs them.
Photo: Olena Gryszczenko
Source: Chernobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve
Seems like a dangerous photo to take (because of the radiation, not the owl)
Scientists, not ones to waste anything, have found tons of things to study in the huge contaminated area, so danger zones are very well documented as they study the residual contamination and its effects.
There were tours anyone could take up until the war in Ukraine. One tour website stated there were 8 safe routes to explore with a licensed guide. The radiation exposure of the tour area for the permitted duration was said to be the same as a long flight. The main guidelines said don't touch or eat anything and to preferably wear disposable clothing and footwear to avoid prolonged contact from anything potentially carried out with you.
If you are curious, radiation levels are always available here, as long as I could pay for hosting
https://do.pripyachka.com/graph/?n=72
Are you able to put that rad level into context?
20uR/h is typical value for air in big city like Moscow when air quality is really bad. I usually get 10-ish in central Finland. You can choose another location in this network and compare. If you see obvious anomalies, it might very well be an equipment error - these things are really unmanned for decades, and some are quite unreachable. The one I have in my hands got a battery frozen, for example, so I took it home to thaw and it's showing indoors temperature for the last month or so, which is silly 40-50C off, I don't have time to take it apart properly and do the change, it's just watching my lazy ass typing this stuff from a pile of broken electronics.
Thank you! I didn't notice the drop down menu earlier.
These days, the radiation is dangerous on the long term exposure level, not short term
IIRC it's not that dangerous, especially if you're at least a bit careful