This is Cornwall --
THE BODY of one Europe's most majestic birds has been found on the edge of Bodmin Moor.
The carcass of an eagle owl, which has a body the size of a turkey, was found beside the road at St Tudy by animal-lover Arthur Boyt, who lives at Davidstow.
Mr Boyt said he was driving past the entrance to Hengar Manor at St Tudy when he saw the dead bird.
"I was amazed when I picked it up to find that it was an eagle owl. I would say it had been hit by a car but it was still a fine specimen."
The eagle owl is the largest European owl, with a broadly streaked tawny breast, a body length of 22 to 30 inches and a wing span of 63 to 74 inches. It is mainly resident in Southern Europe and Asia and to the east in countries such as Finland. Just two months ago an escaped eagle owl attacked two men in the centre of Inverness in Scotland.
Eagle owls can live for up to 20 years in the wild but have survived up to 60 years in zoo collections. Healthy adults normally have no natural predators and the leading causes of death for this species are man-made: electrocution, traffic accidents and shooting.
The one found by Mr Boyt had leather jesses on its legs which are used for flying display birds and an identity disc. It had originally belonged to a wildlife park in Combe Martin, North Devon, but it said it had been transferred to someone else.
"It had been a display animal, used to being fed by humans. It is capable of taking something as big as a small deer, but I think this one starved to death because it did not know how to hunt and feed itself. There was no food in its abdomen. It is the most incredible thing I have ever found," said Mr Boyt.
Did you see the owl? Let us know through Twitter and Facebook. Reported by This is 9 hours ago.
THE BODY of one Europe's most majestic birds has been found on the edge of Bodmin Moor.
The carcass of an eagle owl, which has a body the size of a turkey, was found beside the road at St Tudy by animal-lover Arthur Boyt, who lives at Davidstow.
Mr Boyt said he was driving past the entrance to Hengar Manor at St Tudy when he saw the dead bird.
"I was amazed when I picked it up to find that it was an eagle owl. I would say it had been hit by a car but it was still a fine specimen."
The eagle owl is the largest European owl, with a broadly streaked tawny breast, a body length of 22 to 30 inches and a wing span of 63 to 74 inches. It is mainly resident in Southern Europe and Asia and to the east in countries such as Finland. Just two months ago an escaped eagle owl attacked two men in the centre of Inverness in Scotland.
Eagle owls can live for up to 20 years in the wild but have survived up to 60 years in zoo collections. Healthy adults normally have no natural predators and the leading causes of death for this species are man-made: electrocution, traffic accidents and shooting.
The one found by Mr Boyt had leather jesses on its legs which are used for flying display birds and an identity disc. It had originally belonged to a wildlife park in Combe Martin, North Devon, but it said it had been transferred to someone else.
"It had been a display animal, used to being fed by humans. It is capable of taking something as big as a small deer, but I think this one starved to death because it did not know how to hunt and feed itself. There was no food in its abdomen. It is the most incredible thing I have ever found," said Mr Boyt.
Did you see the owl? Let us know through Twitter and Facebook. Reported by This is 9 hours ago.