From Owls in Towels
Luna the Spectacled Owl at Belize Raptor Center @belizeraptorcenter
"Luna is our residential matriarch raptor, going on 30 years wise, and was a successful apex predator for a quarter of a century before running into a barbed wire fence. She's non-releasable due to resulting wing injury.
"She is an exquisite educational ambassador at the center."
Many thank-yous to Elena Calderone for sharing these great pics of Luna at BRC. Elena included the following info:
"In those photos she was wrapped like a burrito so we could cope her beak as it had gotten a bit too long"
Indeed, owl beaks keep growing. Their talons too, and just like human hair and fingernails, they need the occasional trim. In the wild this excess growth tends to exfoliate naturally when they're out hunting and scavenging, picking meat from bones etc.
But in captivity? Owls (and other birds of prey) work a little less hard for their food. Less wear and tear means the keratin builds up, and growth is spurred along by nutrient-rich diets. So carers often use tools to trim and shape (aka "cope") their beaks to maintain proper function and health for the birds. The brand-agnostic rotary tool in the foreground is one such coping instrument.
Elena added "She was so mad 😄"
Before
After
