(Eng/Esp) Three years ago, we had an "illegal" visit from a lovely feathered bird!

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En Diciembre del año 2021, el mismo año en el que llegaron las visitas de Caranchin y Pichono, yo me encontraba vendiendo jugos artesanales y bebidas en la calle como un emprendimiento de verano cuando pase por un camino donde hay vendedores de la calle y había uno que estaba vendiendo de forma ilegal animales, entre ellos una lechuza de las vizcachas, a quien nombre Dubi y de aquí viene el título de "visita ilegal" de esta ave porque caí en la fea tentación de llevarme a esa lechuza a mi casa porque sus ojitos me enamoraron y no me siento para nada orgullosa de lo que hice porque de alguna forma contribuí al tráfico ilegal de aves al comprar a Dubi, pero no podía dejarlo allí, así que tome toda la ganancia que obtuve en ese día y me lo lleve a mi casa. Luego hice la denuncia correspondiente a Fauna Silvestre y después de algunos años, ya no volví a ver a ese vendedor, quiero creer que escucharon mi denuncia y se fue, repito, no me siento orgullosa, estaba arrepentida y a la vez no viendo a Dubi, pero el impulso me gano porque era un búho y me enamore de él a primera vista.

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In December 2021, the same year that Caranchin and Pichono came to visit, I was selling homemade juices and drinks on the street as a summer business venture when I passed by a road where there were street vendors, and there was one who was illegally selling animals, including a vizcacha owl, whom I named Dubi. This is where the title “illegal visit” comes from, because I fell into the ugly temptation of taking that owl home with me because I fell in love with its little eyes. I am not at all proud of what I did because, in a way, I contributed to the illegal trafficking of birds by buying Dubi, but I couldn't leave him there, so I took all the money I had earned that day and took him home with me. Then I filed a report with Wildlife Services, and after a few years, I never saw that seller again. I want to believe that they listened to my report and he left. I repeat, I am not proud of what I did. I was sorry and at the same time I missed Dubi, but the impulse won out because it was an owl and I fell in love with it at first sight.

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Una vez que estuvo en mi casa, comencé a averiguar su dieta y como cuidarlo lo mejor posible hasta que encontrara un sitio que lo aceptara y lo rehabilitara. Estuvo una semana conmigo y durante ese tiempo fue muy notable su cambio, pasó de estar casi inmóvil y débil a volar por toda la casa y posarse en todos los sitios que podía. Gruñía, dormía, comía, hacia sus necesidades por todos lados, estaba deshidratado cuando lo traje y luego recupero fuerzas mientras yo seguía buscando un sitio que lo aceptara y luego de unos días descubrí que la Costanera Sur tenía un refugio de aves y ese sería el sitio al que lo llevaría. Era un viernes cuando los contacte y tenía que esperar al lunes para poder llevarlo, así que nos quedamos con él dos días más y aquí les quiero contar sus travesuras.

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Once he was at my house, I began to find out about his diet and how to take care of him as best as possible until I found a place that would accept him and rehabilitate him. He stayed with me for a week, and during that time his change was remarkable. He went from being almost immobile and weak to flying around the house and perching everywhere he could. He growled, slept, ate, relieved himself everywhere, and was dehydrated when I brought him in, but he regained his strength while I continued to look for a place that would take him in. After a few days, I discovered that the Costanera Sur had a bird sanctuary, and that would be the place I would take him. It was a Friday when I contacted them, and I had to wait until Monday to take him there, so we kept him for two more days, and here I want to tell you about his antics.

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Español (click here!)

Obviamente, al ser un ave, no estaba cómodo con mi presencia, cada vez que me acercaba a donde él estaba, abría sus alas y me gruñía. Yo trataba de no invadir su espacio, así que lo dejaba a oscuras y me iba a vender mis productos y cuando regresaba estaba totalmente cómodo durmiendo sobre uno de mis muebles, literal se había adueñado de ese espacio y nosotras lo respetábamos. Él me rechazaba, excepto cuando le daba de comer, ahí se ponía dócil y dejaba que me acercara, como podrán ver en el video, Dubi sabía perfectamente cuando estaba preparando su comida, menudos de pollo, me miraba atento y esperaba a que fuera con el platito a darle de comer y yo amaba verlo disfrutar y aceptar la comida sin berrinches, era el único momento en que me permitía acercarme, interesado. Le daba de comer dos veces por día porque si no, me pintaba la casa de excremento y sí lo hizo, ese mueble aun conserva la marca de sus necesidades fisiológicas y con él comprendí que los búhos son cagadores seriales.

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Obviously, being a bird, he wasn't comfortable with my presence. Every time I approached him, he would spread his wings and growl at me. I tried not to invade his space, so I would leave him in the dark and go sell my products. When I returned, he was completely comfortable sleeping on one of my pieces of furniture. He had literally taken over that space, and we respected that. He rejected me, except when I fed him. Then he became docile and let me approach him. As you can see in the video, Dubi knew perfectly well when I was preparing his food, chicken gizzards. He would look at me intently and wait for me to go with the little plate to feed him, and I loved to see him enjoy and accept the food without tantrums. It was the only time he allowed me to approach him, interested. I fed him twice a day because otherwise he would defecate all over the house, and he did. That piece of furniture still bears the mark of his physiological needs, and with him I understood that owls are serial defecators.

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Español (click here!)

Mantenía la casa a oscuras, al ser un ave nocturna necesitaba oscuridad, pero había un comportamiento curioso en él, aquí quiero mencionar que al principio creí que era un Caburé, un búho, o así me dijeron en uno de los sitios que contacte, por ende era nocturno y había que proteger su visión nocturna, pero Dubi tenía comportamientos diurnos, cosa que me pareció extraño y fue cuando lo lleve al refugio que me revelaron su verdadera identidad, no era un Caburé, era una lechuza de las vizcachas y esas aves tienen hábitos diurnos y viven en madrigueras, misterio resuelto. Bueno, a Dubi le encantaba posarse en los lugares más raros, arriba del ventilador, arriba del taparrollo donde no cabía, arriba de la televisión, era bastante inquieto, pero súper adorable, más pequeño de lo que parece y con una carita tierna.

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I kept the house dark, as being a nocturnal bird it needed darkness, but there was something curious about its behavior. I should mention that at first I thought it was a Caburé, an owl, or so I was told by one of the places I contacted, so it was nocturnal and its night vision had to be protected. However, Dubi exhibited diurnal behavior, which I found strange. It was when I took him to the shelter that they revealed his true identity to me. He was not a Caburé; he was a vizcacha owl, and those birds have diurnal habits and live in burrows. Mystery solved. Well, Dubi loved to perch in the strangest places, on top of the fan, on top of the table where he didn't fit, on top of the television. He was quite restless, but super adorable, smaller than he looks and with a cute little face.

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Durante la noche lo dejábamos encerrado en el baño para que no se lastimara con algún electrodoméstico o algún objeto de la casa porque una vez se llevó el ventilador por delante y estaba funcionando, menos mal que gira muy lento, de lo contrario habría perdido varias plumas, así que lo dejábamos tranquilo dormir allí y cuando iba a verlo, madre santa, la cantidad de excremento que dejaba era colosal, una cosita tan chiquita que hiciera semejante desmadre, por suerte no son olorosas. En otra de sus travesías, quiso posarse sobre el televisor y era de un material resbaladizo, Dubi literal se patinó sobre él y se asustó tanto que salió volando detrás de mi PC y se enredó con los cables, casi tira todo, intente ayudarlo, pero me dio tanta risa que fue difícil ayudarlo y encima me picoteaba, pero eso no fue lo único, también se cayó dentro del inodoro, esa vez olvide bajar la tapa y se dio un lindo chapuzón. Pronto sería libre, así que restaba seguir vigilándolo porque era un peligro emplumado.

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At night, we locked him in the bathroom so he wouldn't hurt himself with any appliances or objects in the house, because once he knocked over the fan while it was running. Luckily, it spins very slowly, otherwise he would have lost several feathers. so we let him sleep there in peace. When I went to check on him, holy mother, the amount of excrement he left behind was colossal. Such a tiny thing causing such a mess! Luckily, it doesn't smell. On another of his adventures, he wanted to land on the TV, which was made of a slippery material. Dubi literally skidded on it and got so scared that he flew behind my PC and got tangled up in the cables, almost knocking everything over. I tried to help him, but I laughed so hard that it was difficult to help him, and on top of that, he was pecking at me. But that wasn't all. He also fell into the toilet. That time, I forgot to put the lid down, and he took a nice dip. Soon he would be free, so I had to keep watching him because he was a feathered danger.

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Español (click here!)

El día que lo llevamos al refugio me sentía un poco triste porque lo iba a extrañar un montón, a pesar de que él no me quería, yo sí. Me gustaba darle su comidita con una pinza porque esa cosita pequeña picoteaba fuerte y me gustaba verlo dormir plácidamente en el mueble, a veces me volteaba a ver la esquina donde él dormía y me parecía verlo, de verdad lo extrañaba, pero sabía que estaría bien porque había muchas aves en ese refugio y todas separadas en distintas jaulas, Dubi tenía la suya propia y sabía que algún día sería libre y viviría en una madriguera junto con otras lechuzas como siempre debió ser. A pesar de que yo fomente de alguna forma el tráfico ilegal de aves, me gustaría que así como hay personas que constantemente rescatan gatos y perros, no ignoren a las aves, ellas están en más peligro y si notan este ilícito, no miren para otro lado, siempre hay una forma de ayudar a un ave a la que quieren privar de su libertad para volar, ayudemos a las aves que están en peligro de extinción, ellas nos necesitan más.

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The day we took him to the shelter, I felt a little sad because I was going to miss him a lot, even though he didn't love me, I loved him. I liked feeding him with tweezers because that little thing pecked hard, and I liked watching him sleep peacefully on the furniture. Sometimes I would look over at the corner where he slept and I thought I could see him. I really missed him, but I knew he would be fine because there were many birds at that shelter, all separated into different cages. Dubi had his own cage, and I knew that one day he would be free and live in a burrow with other owls, as he always should have. Even though I somehow encourage the illegal trafficking of birds, I would like people who constantly rescue cats and dogs not to ignore birds. They are in greater danger, and if you notice this illegal activity, don't look the other way. There is always a way to help a bird that is being deprived of its freedom to fly. Let's help birds that are in danger of extinction. They need us more.

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️✏️ Letters created with the Online Letter Converter

✏️ Text written by me, translated and formatted with Hive Translator by @noakmilo

📷 Photos taken by me with a Samsung J3 Prime and edited in Photoscape

🎥 Video edited in CapCut

🎙️ Background music without copyright from CapCut

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