Rescued birds treated to a pedicure—or talon trim
At the New England Wildlife Center in Massachusetts, owls and hawks receive pedicure services. No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke! Unfortunately, these rescued birds cannot be released back into the wild, so wildlife center staff step in to manually carry out the processes that would normally be taken care of by nature: filing down their talons and beaks.
Animals, including parrots, cockatiels and parakeets living under human care, grow their nails and beaks as they would in the wild.
“But they don’t face the abrasive nature of the outside world,” says Greg Mertz, CEO of the New England Wildlife Center. Popular science. “They don’t hang on trees or fly from place to place. So the nails grow longer, and because they live in such a pampered environment, we have to physically trim them.”
It’s the same as clipping a pet dog’s nails or when a farrier files horses’ hooves before fitting them with new horseshoes. In a video from the New England Wildlife Center, staff members hold upset birds swaddled in colorful towels or blankets, while other team members shorten and smooth the birds’ claws with files and clippers. They also file their beaks, sometimes gently keeping a finger between the upper and lower parts, probably to keep it open.
If one of these birds lands on a person after their pedicure, it won’t do much harm, Mertz says. He prefers to use small electric cutters because the tool gives him a better view of his work.
As for the covers, they are meant to keep the birds still and safe, while making the whole process adorable.
“They feel somewhat safe in those settings. They’re used to it. I think if I were to pick up the phone and let you interview Strix [the barred owl]he said, “No, wrapping myself in a towel is not what I want to do.” “But we know he’s also not going to struggle to the point where he gets loose or breaks a leg or feathers or anything like that,” Mertz says.
Like the wildlife center’s other educational animals, Strix would not survive if released into the wild. He was brought to the center as a teenager with a broken wing (possibly from a car collision) and can no longer fly properly.
Today, he helps thousands of children learn about owls each year and receives routine pedicures and facials from a dedicated group of rescuers.
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