At the New England Wildlife Center in Massachusetts, owls and falcons get pedicure services. No, this isn’t an April fools’ joke! Unfortunately, these rescued birds cannot be returned to the wild, so the wildlife center’s staff steps in to manually conduct the processes that would normally be taken care of by nature—filing down their talons and beaks.
Animals also including parrots, cockatiels, and parakeets living under human care grow out their nails and beaks just as they would in the wild.
“But they’re not faced with the abrasive nature of the outdoor world,” Greg Mertz, New England Wildlife Center CEO, tells Popular Science. “They’re not grabbing on the trees and flying from place to place. So the nails grow longer, and because they’re living in such a pampered environment, they need to be physically trimmed by us.”
It’s the same as trimming a pet dog’s nails, or when a farrier files down horses’ hooves before fitting them with new horseshoes. In a New England Wildlife Center video, staff members hold chagrined birds swaddled in colorful towels or blankets, while other team members shorten and smooth the birds’ talons with files and clippers. They also file down their beaks, sometimes gently keeping a finger between the upper and lower parts, presumably to keep it open.
If one of these birds lands on a person after their pedicure, it won’t actually hurt, explains Mertz. He prefers using small electrical wire cutters, because the tool gives him a better view of his work.
As for the blankets, they’re meant to keep the birds still and safe—while also making the whole process adorable.
“They feel somewhat secure in those settings. They’re used to it. I think if I were to take the phone out and let you interview Strix [the barred owl], he would say, ‘No, wrapping me in a towel is not what I want to do.’ But we know that he’s also not going to struggle so badly that he breaks away or breaks a leg or feathers or something like that,” Mertz says.
Like the other educational animals at the wildlife center, Strix wouldn’t survive if released into the wild. He was brought to the center as an adolescent with a broken wing (possibly due to a collision with a car) and can no longer fly properly.
Now, he helps thousands of kids learn about owls every year, and receives routine pedicures and facials from a dedicated group of rescuers.
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