Nervous owl has forgotten how to fly - PHOTO

Now, he is being encouraged to aim higher by handler Gareth Tonen, 25, who is teaching him to ‘be an owl’ by climbing trees with him.

‘Troy sees himself as more of a human than an owl,’ said Ashley Smith, of the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Andover, Hampshire. ‘He doesn’t know how to sit in trees or hunt. He sees everything from human-eye level. He does not see the point in sitting in a tree unless Gareth is in the tree. I don’t think he even knows he’s an owl – he thinks he’s a Gareth.’

Mr Tonen said Troy’s phobia was unique, adding: ‘We’ll get there. He’s gaining confidence and if I have to carry on climbing up trees with him, then we’ll do what it takes for him to be a high-flyer.’


/Metro.co.uk/

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