Acupuncture helps sick owls
return to wild in Spain
Madrid (AFP) - The patient opens his
yellow eyes wide but makes no sound as acupuncturist Edurne Cornejo pricks four
fine needles into his legs.
It is hard to tell whether he is
surprised, as his eyes are wide at the best of times. He is an owl -- and no newcomer
to acupuncture therapy.
Two months ago this 25-centimetre
(10-inch) "little owl", or Athene Noctua, hurt his back when he flew
by mistake into a stovepipe at a factory in eastern Madrid. The city lies on a
mountainous plateau teeming with such birds.
He was sent to Brinzal, an
owl-rescue charity based in a park in the west of the city.
Now he lies, his speckled brown and
white breast puffing in and out, as the acupuncture needles stimulate key
points in his nervous system.
"When he first came, he
couldn't stand up. Then he started taking little steps. Now he is flying
again," says Cornejo.
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