The Little Owl That Arrived from a Schoolyard

A teacher found it alone in his school's courtyard — a fledgling mochuelo swathed in grayish down, more bare skin than feathers, regarding the world with that exaggerated solemnity owls seem to be born with. Without a moment's hesitation, he scooped it up and carried it to the doors of Fundación Loros, where Carlos Andrés received it with the quiet ease of someone who knows the wild well. Carlos read the situation quickly. He stepped out, caught two lizards — lobitos, as they call them here on the coast — and the little owl swallowed them without ceremony. "He's doing fine," said Carlos, with the calm certainty that comes from living alongside animals every day. It was a good sign. From the sanctuary, Alejandro reached out to Marcela Villadiego at EPA Cartagena to coordinate the transfer to the CAV — Centro de Atención y Valoración — where the mochuelo will receive specialized care. This small owl's story began beneath a ceiba tree, alone and without explanation, the way so many things begin out in the countryside. But there was a teacher who knew to pick it up.