LONG HILL, N.J. — A beloved tiny, partly blind and flightless owl stolen this week from a New Jersey avian rehab center has been returned.
Officials with The Raptor Trust in Long Hill say Simon, an eastern screech owl, was returned unharmed Friday night.
A good Samaritan had told them that the bird would be returned if no charges were filed. Lauren Butcher, the trust's education director, tells The Daily Record of Parsippany that officials don't believe that person was involved in the abduction, which apparently happened late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Simon was a little dehydrated and undergoing fluid therapy Saturday, but was expected to make a full recovery. He will be shielded from the public this weekend so he can calm down.
There are two color morphs of the Eastern Screech owl, a gray phase and a reddish-brown phase.