 | An injured eagle owl was brought to the Falconry centre near Šibenik, Croatia, with its wings badly damaged. Under carefully measured anaesthetic, 30 damaged feathers have been changed with new feathers. The operation was done by Emilio Menđušić, director of the centre (on the photo). The resulting film prepared by Hrvoje Gunjača was awarded by CNN. |
| Saturday, November 01, 2008 Croatia Online - Falconry Centre, Dubrava near the city of ŠibenikSo many stories to tell and not enough time to tell them! Croatia Online's small editorial team is suffering from a surfeit of news and a serious time deficit. Whilst we will be catching up on the last month's news in due course, we couldn't leave last night's story untold for long.We've reported on the the work of the falconry ("sokolarski") centre in Dubrava, near Šibenik, in a previous posting - see croatiaonline.blogspot.com. However last night's story is more an illustration of how a small and inspired conservation organisation, in a tiny village, in a small country, can make world news. Some months ago an injured eagle owl was brought to the centre with its wings badly damaged. Under carefully measured anaesthetic, the team matched the 30 damaged feathers with those in its feather bank and, in a process known as imping, linked these new feathers to the shafts of the damaged feathers, with pins and rods. After a rest and a full inspection the owl was released swiftly back into the wild at the precise spot where it was found (recorded on GPS), and before another bird took over its territory. Just as remarkably, the whole process, including the flight back to the wild, was filmed by Hrvoje Gunjača, a journalist for Croatian television. He documented the imping and the release, and it was picked up by CNN World Report who broadcast it around the world, shining the spotlight on both the unique work of the Sokolarski Centre, and a very happy ending for the owl in question.
We saw the CNN film clip at a presentation in the new and very modern Šibenik Library, yesterday evening, and understand that the original Croatian reporter is to receive an award for his work. That award is very well deserved, as is the increased exposure that the documentary has given to the very enterprising and noble work carried out at the centre. Emilio Menđušić, the centre's founder and continuing inspiration (pictured left) doesn't stand still for very long and is now in the process of extending the veterinary facilities to include a veterinary centre catering for all animals. This will help contribute funds to the centre and help the two resident vets (Emil pictured right) earn a living whilst they continue to provide honorary services to the centre and the injured wild birds of prey that are brought there. Victoria Norman (pictured centre) is a doyenne of falconry and came from England two years ago to volunteer for the centre. All three were intensly involved in all stages of the rescue and "repair" of the owl which is just one of the many aspects of their work at the centre. Even happier news for the celebrity owl is that after two years, his "imped" feathers will moult and be replaced by brand new ones without the pins and rods! Jane Cody Source: croatiaonline.blogspot. |
Replacing broken feathers with those from Feather Bank in Sokolarski centar (i.e. from Falcon Center directed by Emilio Menđušić), using special sticks and glue.
Dr. Emil Ofner from Šibenik and Emilio Menđušić performing delicate operation of replacing damaged feathers to the eagel owl. These feathers have been collected and sorted in past years by dr. Emil Ofner and dr. Goran Horvatović, both of them veterinaries and collaborators of the Falcon Center near Šibenik.
Emilio Menđušić with eagle owl in Hrvoje Gunjača's film awarded by CNN.
 Hrvoje Gunjača in Šibenik, in front of the famous Šibenik Cathedral from 15th century on the left. Photo from Slobodna Dalmacija, where you can find more information about his awarded film in Croatian. Here is his address: Hrvoje Gunjača HTV Studio Šibenik, P. Grubišića 2 22000 Šibenik, CROATIA Tel: +385 22/201918, Fax: +38522/201919 E-mail: Hrvoje.Gunjaca[AT]hrt.hr |
Emilio Menđušić, Victoria Norman from Great Britian, and dr. Emil Ofner, veterinary from the town of Šibenik.
| SOKOLARSKI CENTAR VL. EMILIO MENĐUŠIĆ Škugori bb HR-22000 Dubrava kod Šibenika Centar za rehabilitaciju grabljivica Tel. +385 (22) 330 116 Web: www.sokolarskicentar.com |
Šibenskom novinaru Hrvoju Gunjači nagrada CNN-a za reportažu o operaciji soveHrvoje Gunjača, novinar šibenskog Studija HRT-a, dobitnik je CNN-ove nagrade koja se dodjeljuje bijenalno.To je vrjedniji podatak da je redakcija emisije "World Report" CNN-a u konkurenciji radova iz cijelog svijeta koje je objavljivala tijekom dvije godine odabrala upravo rad šibenskog novinara. Reportažu o operaciji sove u Sokolarskom centru u Dubravi Gunjača je radio prvo za emisiju Dobro jutro, a urednica Darija Marjanović, ujedno koordinatorica HRT-a za međunarodnu proizvodnju, predložila je da se reportaža napravi i na engleskom jeziku i pošalje za spomenutu CNN-ovu emisiju. - Nisam ni znao da sam u konkurenciji za neke nagrade. Čak je kolegica Ivana Dragičević-Veličković to sasvim slučajno otkrila. Išla je pogledati kad će ići njezin prilog u istoj emisiji i otkrila da je na popisu od četiri kategorije nagrada i reportaža HRT-a o operaciji sove! Javila je to Dariji Marjanović i tako se "otkrilo" da smo dobili nagradu - govori Hrvoje Gunjača, napominjući da su prilog s njim radili Milan Živković, kao snimatelj, Milan Gega kao tonski snimatelj i montažerka Božana Barbarić. Emisija "World Report" već 21 godinu objavljuje reportaže novinara iz cijelog svijeta, a među najmanje četrdeset tisuća objavljenih priloga našao se i ovaj šibenskog Studija HRT-a i novinara Hrvoja Gunjače, i to - kao pobjednik u svojoj kategoriji. Source: Slobodna Dalmacija |
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