FINDING THEIR WAY HOME.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 17, 20 January 1934, Page 2 (Supplement)

FINDING THEIR WAY HOME.

Two more wonderful instances of animals finding their way home after being taken a long distance have been recorded. A pair of barn owls made a nest in the roof of a verandah of a homestead in Natal. They successfully hatched some young ones, and a fledgling was taken by the owner of the homestead as a pet. One of its wings was clipped to prevent its flying awav, and it soon ; became quite tame. It never went far from its home, and when it wanted to shelter it would retire into a box. After the young owl had led this life for seven months it was taken in a closed box by motor car - to another farmstead, and there given its liberty. For four days it remained about the place, and then it disappeared. Eight days after, to the great surprise of its original owner, it was found in his garden, looking quite well and unconcerned. Now, between the two farmsteads there are sixty miles of hilly and rough country, and as the bird with its clipped wing could-only fly about fiftyyards at a time it is remarkable how it managed to get home again. Further, as it had been taken a Way in a closed box it could not have seen the direction in which it was going. The other case concerns a turtle which was brought to London by ship and probably intended' for turtle soup. But someone thought it Would be interesting t.o mark the creature and take it to the mouth of tli© Thames to see if it found its way back to the place where it had been caught. It was arranged that a look-out should be kept for the turtle, and it wa.s not' long before it was found swimming in its far-distant home waters. There is something very attractive in the way these creatures find their way home, and it shows what a tremendous affection they must have for home.