Original article – 29 Jun 2022 – by Marcus Parekh
Leofoo Village Theme Park, Taiwan

Taiwanese conservationists have released adorable pictures of a baby mountain scops owl being weighed during routine health checks.

The tiny owl was photographed wrapped in a cloth while a member of staff checked on its health, at a theme park and safari in Hsinchu county in Taiwan.

The owl weighed a whopping 76 grams (2.68oz). Typically, adult mountain scops owls only grow to 110 grams and measure just 20cm long. They can live for up to ten years.

Native to southern China and south-east Asia, the baby mountain scops owl usually lives in humid forests and forages for beetles and moths to eat in the dense undergrowth.

The owls are weighed at birth in order to ensure they are healthy and well nourished, giving them the best chance to survive to adulthood.

The Leofoo Village Theme Park, where the photographs were taken, is home to a wide variety of bird species and is one of the top tourist attractions in Taiwan.

---