I've been here for three and a half months, and we've just had our first potential new bird at Himalayan Raptor Rescue. A man came to Maya Devi, and said he's had an owl in a chicken crate for the past 10 days, and we needed to come look at it. After clarifying that we're a rescue center and we can take the owl, but will not pay him for it, we piled in a taxi with some gloves and a cardboard box for transporting the bird.
We drove to a house in the middle of farm fields. There was a simple cow shelter in the back, and a lean-to outdoor kitchen off the side door. When we went inside, we found an overturned wooden crate on the landing of the concrete stairway. Underneath, on the concrete floor, was a Eurasian eagle owl.
Then the negotiations began. In Nepal, there isn't a widespread feeling of goodwill towards wildlife. People wouldn't just pick up an injured bird to rescue it for the bird's sake. They will pick up a bird, if they think they can sell it and make a good amount of money from it.
The people who found this owl had seen an article in the paper, where birds like this one could be sold for lots of money. Although we had repeatedly said we would not pay for the bird, they kept saying we needed to give them money; 50,000 Nepali rupees (over $700). Soon, we found ourselves surrounded by everyone who lived in the area. They all came in support of this family with the owl, and against these white foreigners who clearly had plenty of money and were just trying to get the owl for free.
We argued with them as much as we could with the help of our taxi driver/translator. We told them their options: we could either take the bird now, take care of it, then release it to the wild, or the Forestry officers would come and take the owl, and then fine them for keeping it. They chose to take their chances, and after hours of trying to reason with them and getting yelled at and laughed at in return, we left empty-handed. The man who had originally told us about the owl gave us the evil eye as we left, believing the whole time that we would eventually come around and pay him the money for the owl, and then we reneged on our "deal."
As we rode back to Maya Devi in the taxi with the empty cardboard box, I was feeling frustrated with the situation and our inability to reason with the people. I was feeling overwhelmed with being surrounded by so many angry and greedy people. I was feeling helpless and lost in a country where the norm is so far from what I am used to. Mainly, I was feeling sorry for the owl, who did nothing to deserve being trapped in a crate for almost two weeks.
The Forestry Officer went to the house the next morning, and the owl was no longer there. It was either moved to a different location, or sold, or just released. In any case, I will remember that owl and will be hoping for the best for him.
We drove to a house in the middle of farm fields. There was a simple cow shelter in the back, and a lean-to outdoor kitchen off the side door. When we went inside, we found an overturned wooden crate on the landing of the concrete stairway. Underneath, on the concrete floor, was a Eurasian eagle owl.
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| The crate on the concrete stair landing where the owl was being held. |
The people who found this owl had seen an article in the paper, where birds like this one could be sold for lots of money. Although we had repeatedly said we would not pay for the bird, they kept saying we needed to give them money; 50,000 Nepali rupees (over $700). Soon, we found ourselves surrounded by everyone who lived in the area. They all came in support of this family with the owl, and against these white foreigners who clearly had plenty of money and were just trying to get the owl for free.
We argued with them as much as we could with the help of our taxi driver/translator. We told them their options: we could either take the bird now, take care of it, then release it to the wild, or the Forestry officers would come and take the owl, and then fine them for keeping it. They chose to take their chances, and after hours of trying to reason with them and getting yelled at and laughed at in return, we left empty-handed. The man who had originally told us about the owl gave us the evil eye as we left, believing the whole time that we would eventually come around and pay him the money for the owl, and then we reneged on our "deal."
As we rode back to Maya Devi in the taxi with the empty cardboard box, I was feeling frustrated with the situation and our inability to reason with the people. I was feeling overwhelmed with being surrounded by so many angry and greedy people. I was feeling helpless and lost in a country where the norm is so far from what I am used to. Mainly, I was feeling sorry for the owl, who did nothing to deserve being trapped in a crate for almost two weeks.
The Forestry Officer went to the house the next morning, and the owl was no longer there. It was either moved to a different location, or sold, or just released. In any case, I will remember that owl and will be hoping for the best for him.
Immensely frustrating story. Loving the blog. Keep up the good work.
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