The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York has over the years become a real attraction, a must-see for anyone visiting the Big Apple, as well as for its own locals.
Unfortunately, in keeping with the tradition of always having a real tree to celebrate Christmas, each year we cut one and transport it to town, ready to be displayed in Manhattan’s famous shopping complex. As we now know, 2020 is a very special year, and this “made in the USA” tradition has also had an unusual episode. The protagonist was a small owl which, from the safety of its habitat, found itself 300 km away, in the heart of the American metropolis. Fortunately alive and in her “home”.
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image credit: Ravensbeard Wildlife Center/Facebook
The tree chosen as New York’s Christmas tree was located in Oneonta, New York, a city just under 300 km from the metropolis. Cut down and loaded onto a truck, the large tree took about 2 days to reach its destination. But no one would ever have imagined that inside there might be an unexpected little “tenant”.
The little owl was there, and she was noticed by one of the men in charge of the management and preparation of the tree. The official realized that it was a wild animal, unwillingly transported away from his home, although still inside his “house”.
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image credit: Ravensbeard Wildlife Center/Facebook
The animal, a Saw-whet Owl ( Aegolius acadicus ) is a particularly small specimen even an adult: 20 centimeters for only 100 grams. The man who found her immediately put the poor owl in a container, frightened, malnourished, and miraculously alive, to be placed in the care of the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center, a facility that cares for animals like her.
Obviously, the animal was dubbed Rockefeller, and it is now at the center of a rehabilitation program aimed at soon returning it to its natural habitat, to which it is thankfully responding well. Unfortunately, as Ravensbeard reported, the little creature couldn’t endure another journey as long as the one she had to face in spite of herself. For this reason, she will be released to the lands controlled by the Center, with the hope that she will soon feel safe and readjust to her new surroundings.
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image credit: Ravensbeard Wildlife Center/Facebook
A curious story that at the same time makes us reflect on the impact that man, with his activities and his pleasures, can have on vegetation and defenseless creatures.
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image credit: Daniel Dimitrov / Wikimedia – archive photo
Sources used: https://www.nbcnews.com , Ravensbeard Wildlife Center