Goose Hero, Owl Survivor
Earlier this week, a Great Horned Owl was found in the middle of the road and brought to Tucson Wildlife Center by a concerned finder. On intake, he was emaciated, severely anemic, had dangerously low protein levels in his blood, and pockets of air trapped under his skin (subcutaneous emphysema).
His only clear injuries were mild shoulder emphysema and an eye injury where the lens had been knocked out of its normal position—both injuries likely caused by an impact. As these injuries alone do not explain the severity of his anemia, our veterinary team is continuing diagnostics to uncover the cause.
The owl was stabilized with an IV catheter—allowing our team to give him fluids to rehydrate and support his circulation—and IV hetastarch, a special fluid that helps increase blood volume in critical patients. But he urgently needed a blood transfusion to survive.
In birds, emergency life-saving transfusions can be challenging because avian blood cannot be stored or banked. When a donor of the same species is not available, veterinarians can perform a one-time “heterologous” transfusion—using blood from a different bird species—which is generally well tolerated and does not typically cause transfusion reactions.
That is where Martini (and his caregiver) stepped in. Martini, a gentle grey goose, was a former patient at TWC. He was released last year to a dedicated volunteer who had built a sanctuary for rescued domestic ducks and geese. When she heard we had an owl in critical need, she brought Martini back to the Center so he could donate blood.
Watch the video to see Martini return to TWC—no longer in need of help himself but giving help to another. Martini calmly gave his donation, and his blood was immediately transfused into the Great Horned Owl—giving this patient the life-saving boost he desperately needed. We are deeply grateful to Martini, his caregiver, and everyone who makes stories like this possible. If you would like to help patients like Martini and this Great Horned Owl, click this link to donate,
Another way you can contribute is to visit our “wish list” on Amazon or Chewy below:
We appreciate it, as will all the wild animals in our care!
Thank you to everyone who answered our recent call for medium and large reptile hideouts. Thanks to your generosity, our reptile patients now have safe, cozy spaces to rest and heal while they are in our care!!
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