Pets & Animals

Smuggled Eurasian Owl Makes Home In SF Zoo

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS / BCN) ― A Eurasian eagle owl that was smuggled from Austria to the U.S. as a decorated Easter egg was officially transferred into the custody of the San Francisco Zoo on Thursday.

The zoo officially welcomed the new member to its family at a press conference, and noted the owl's particularly colorful history tied to transatlantic smuggling.
 
Three years ago, Jeffrey Diaz of Redwood City painted 15 owl eggs with commercial dyes and placed them in an Easter Egg basket to get through customs at San Francisco International Airport, said Zoo Curator Harrison Edell.

However, due to poor incubation conditions on the flight, only three of the 15 eggs hatched — one was "Athena."
 
The eggs, said to be worth thousands of dollars, came from a breeder in Austria. They hatched at Diaz's house, but were then seized as part of an undercover sting called Operation Easter Basket.

After Athena and the other owlets were seized, they were sent to different facilities in Northern California, with Athena being sent to the San Francisco Zoo, where she has lived for two years and grown into a large bird with a wingspan estimated at 5 feet.

"As far as we can tell she's completely healthy," said Edell. "When I heard the conditions they were transported in, I was surprised any of them hatched."

In November 2006, Diaz pleaded guilty to four felony counts of smuggling. During the trial, Athena made a special appearance in the courtroom where the judge was told her survival story.

Diaz was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and will pay a $5,000 fine, but only after the latest round of appeals finished could details about Athena and the other owls be made public.

Eurasian owls are highly prized by smugglers because they can command up to $5,000 if sold on the open market, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent Sean Mann, who helped coordinate the operation to retrieve Athena.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, eagle owls are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

"We're seeing fewer numbers of them in the wild every year due to habitat destruction and pesticides," Edell said. 

However, Athena is thriving and the zoo has shown her off to schools around the region. With details of her unusual history now emerging, Edell expects the owl will be an even hotter commodity.

"She's visually spectacular, and her story makes her even more special," Edell said




================
The zoo held a press conference to tell the story of an eagle owl named "Athena" that got caught up in a transatlantic smuggling case.

The owl came to the United States in 2005 via smuggler Jeffrey Diaz of Redwood City, who illegally transported 15 eagle owl eggs on a flight from Europe by painting them like Easter eggs and putting them in a basket with hand warmers.

Because of poor incubation conditions in the baskets, only three of the 15 owlets survived, one of which was Athena.

The eggs, said to be worth thousands of dollars, came from a breeder in Austria. They hatched at Diaz's house, but were then seized as part of an undercover sting called Operation Easter Basket.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Special Agent Sean Mann said it was two of Diaz's own employees who reported him to authorities.

"One of the employees was there when he came into the country, so she witnessed the Easter basket," Mann said.

In November 2006, Diaz pleaded guilty to four felony counts of smuggling. He was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and will pay a $5,000 fine, but only after the latest round of appeals finished could details about Athena and the other owls be made public.

The three owls were sent to different facilities in Northern California, with Athena being sent to the San Francisco Zoo, where she has lived for two years and grown into a large bird with a wingspan estimated at 5 feet.

"As far as we can tell she's completely healthy," said Harrison Edell, San Francisco Zoo's curator. "When I heard the conditions they were transported in, I was surprised any of them hatched."

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, eagle owls are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

"In the wild they're not an endangered species yet but they're well on their way," Edell said. "We're seeing fewer numbers of them in the wild every year due to habitat destruction and pesticides."

However, Athena is thriving and the zoo has shown her off to schools around the region. With details of her unusual history now emerging, Edell expects the owl will be an even hotter commodity.

"She's visually spectacular, and her story makes her even more special," Edell said.

(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)