Tiberius, a Tawny owl, was found starving on a military barracks parade ground in Plymouth, UK, by animal lover Mark Foden in June 2024. The retired 63-year-old formed a special bond with the bird — who he named after Star Trek character Captain James Tiberius Kirk — after spending months nursing the owl back to health. Foden explained how the owl was very emaciated and at first wouldn’t eat. The bird's reluctance to eat required Foden to push food into the owl’s mouth and push it down. Eventually, the owl began to eat for himself. When Tiberius was finally strong enough to be released into the wild, Foden just opened the door of the makeshift cage, expecting Tiberius to make a run for it. Instead, the owl kept going back and forth, eventually flying out and disappearing. Then, about 12 days later, Foden checked his Ring app and found Tiberius had returned. Now, despite being released into the wild, Tiberius returns to Foden’s house almost every night. He hopes Tiberius will one day establish a territory but continue to stay in the vicinity.
