Frail Baby Owl Prompts Worry Among Webcam Viewers
March 9, 2011— -- A frail-looking baby owl chick on a southern California ranch has prompted concern among thousands of viewers online.
A webcam set up at the Starr Ranch Sanctuary in Trabuco Canyon has captured the every move of a family of barn owls inside an old eucalyptus tree.
"They're recording what they bring in to eat and their behavior and all that, so we're getting information and learning about them," sanctuary manager Pete DeSimone told ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC.
Viewers of the 24/7 live video stream have seen the owls go full circle: from laying their eggs to watching the baby chick emerge from their eggs to the death of one chick.
But there's one baby owl that has many concerned.
Viewers began to notice that one owlet, known as "No. 6," is much smaller in size than the others.
With more than 7,000 comments, the host webpage has been filled with comments from viewers expressing concern.
"#6 is pretty quiet tonight…….has he/she lost some strength over the past 24 hours….seems pretty quiet. Has been such a fighter all along. Tough to watch," wrote one viewer.
"I want so badly to intervene," another wrote.
The survival rate of owl offspring can be as low as 5 percent, DeSimone said.
"I completely understand that it really is a difficult thing to watch," he told KABC. "But having some experience with these birds, we're watching something that's happening in millions of places in nests everywhere around the world.
DeSimone said the owlet is getting fed and believes that nature should run its course without interference.
"Just because we're watching," he told KABC, "I don't feel it gives me the right to manipulate the situation."
