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Family 'devastated' as Kendra the owl goes missing
Kendra the barn owl, who has gone missing from her home in Northrepps. - Credit: Supplied by Jemma Bateman-Harlow
The search is on for a beloved barn owl who has gone missing from her home in north Norfolk.
The owl, called Kendra, belongs to Jemma Bateman-Harlow and her husband David, who live in Northrepps, near Cromer.
Kendra the barn owl, who has gone missing from her home in Northrepps. - Credit: Supplied by Jemma Bateman-Harlow
She went missing about 6.30pm on Friday (January 28).
Mrs Bateman-Harlow said: "She was clipped onto the falconry glove, but she gets particularly spooked by the wind and her clip broke and she just flew off.
"My children are absolutely devastated and we are really upset as she is part of the family."
The family has had Kendra since she was eight weeks old, and she is now four years old.
Kendra the barn owl, who has gone missing from her home in Northrepps. - Credit: Supplied by Jemma Bateman-Harlow
They normally bring her inside in winter.
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Mrs Bateman-Harlow said: "A couple of years ago she caught a bit of a cold and she was quite poorly for being outside.
"So while the temperature has been low she would come inside.
"Owls are not pets, they are a specialised animal.
"We have been out since 8am this morning and we were outside until 11am last night looking.
Kendra the barn owl, who has gone missing from her home in Northrepps. - Credit: Supplied by Jemma Bateman-Harlow
"It's a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack."
Mrs Bateman-Harlow said Kendra would not be able to fend for herself if she was not found soon.
She said: "Time is of the essence. She wouldn't survive long in the wild because she doesn't know how to feed herself.
"She's a captive-bred owl so they don't have the same instincts as a wild owl."
Mrs Bateman-Harlow said the sound barn owls made was not a soft 'twee-twoo' but was a loud screech, similar to what you would imagine a velociraptor dinosaur would make.
She said: "She is either perched in a tree nearby and she will start screeching when she gets hungry, or she has gone far away."
Mrs Bateman-Harlow said that since posting about Kendra on social media they had many people make contact thinking they had seen her.
But she said one identifying feature was that this owl was wearing anklets and jesses - black leather straps that hang down from the legs.
She said: "If you think you see her don't try and approach her because she will probably get scared. Please just ring me and I will come and try and get her."
Mrs Bateman-Harlow can be reached on 07876 642929.
