So I hopped in my car, grabbing a small bird cage and headed to Industrial Shuwaikh.
When I arrived, I found the poor thing tucked inside a paper bag sitting in the Editorial office. As a known rescuer of animals, Islam was doing his best to keep the owl from being hurt. So he asked me to take it home for the night until we could figure out how to save it.
And so, I carried it home with me, and began to research the owls of Kuwait. It turns out that there are more than you would think. Owls are indigenous to Kuwait. There are at least seven different types of owls native to Kuwait and the region, according to the World Birds Database.
Owls also migrate across the Arabian Peninsula, especially during the change of seasons. The owl found in Kuwait Times’ printing press appears to be a young Eurasian Scops owl or one of its subspecies. These owls can be found in different geographical locations such as Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan. Unfortunately many hunters mistake them for other birds, like Starlings and shoot them.
Owl hunting is banned in Kuwait. As there have been a few reports of wild owls lately, the local Kuwait Owls Group issued a public call asking people not to capture or keep them as they are wild and need to hunt.
"This type of owl lives on prey, and should be released back into the wild. Otherwise it can die in captivity,” said explained Mohammad Dashti, Kuwait Owl Group (@q8_owl) member. Thankfully, the group reacted to our call and Dashti came to my house to take the owl. Dashti sent follow up videos of the owl eating. We hope that its strength returns soon and can be set free to wing its way home.
By Athoob Al-Shuaibi