Kendrapara: Bhitarkanika National Park officials have rescued an endangered barn owl, which is a scheduled animal under the Wildlife Act, from a house in the village near to the forest in Odisha's Kendrapara district.
The avian species which was most probably attacked by a predator in forest had sneaked into a house in Iswarpur village after a hectic flight.
Forest Range Officer, Akshaya Kumar Nayak said after the house owner along with locals informed the forest staff, it was rescued and later released into the forest.
"I was scared to spot the bird perched atop a wooden plank of the house. I ensured that no harm is caused to the rare bird which was partially white complexioned, house owner, Chandramani Parida said from park-fringed Iswarpur village.
Because many people had converged at the house to have a look at the bird, it was disturbed and went panicky. "We ensnared it in a net and released in the mangrove forest of the national park," Nayak said.
The barn owl which was rescued is a protected species under schedule 3 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Barn owls go for hunting small mammals which they locate by sound. Bhitarkanika is a safe and congenial habitat for owls.
Though no headcount of these species has been done yet, the national park is home to over 100 barn owls, the official said.