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09th Apr 2019

An eagle owl capable of eating a fully grown deer has gone missing in Kildare

Jade Hayden

The owl was last seen heading towards the M7.

An eagle owl capable of eating a fully grown deer has gone missing in Kildare.

The owl, named ‘Tank’ but nicknamed ‘Owlington’, escaped from her home in Curragh Grange while she was being fed on Friday.

Owner Darren Jackson believes that Tank is still in the area.

She was last seen flying towards the M7.

Jackson told KFM Radio that the owl may have traveled up towards Caragh, which is approximately a 10 or 15 minute drive away from his home.

“With the wind carrying her, that would have been a very short flight, it wouldn’t have been much of a distance at all,” he said.

“So I think realistically Naas, Sallins. Pretty much anywhere in the Kildare area at the moment is likely.”

Owlington escaped from her home last week after she was spooked by a passing cat.

Eagle owls, or Eurasia eagle owls, are one of the largest owl species in the world. Females can grow to a total length of 75 cm with a wingspan of 188 cm.

They weigh almost 10 times the weight of a regular barn owl.