After captivity in Madrid, owl twins learn to live on their own

Two twin eagle owls have been released into the Madrid countryside after being born in captivity in the city zoo and undergoing months of training.
The release, which took place in the town of Villamantilla, 40 kilometres west of Madrid, is part of a Madrid zoo breeding program of night birds of prey including eagle owls and barn owls. The birds born in the zoo are taken to a recovery centre called “Brinzal” to get them fit for living in the wild.
Caregivers at the Brinzal train the chicks for three to four months so they gain strength and develop hunting instincts in a large aviary designed to have a similar environment to the local mountain range.
When they reach a certain weight and pass various skill tests, caregivers free the birds into the wild, where they are crucial for controlling pests.
The twins were born in February at the Madrid zoo from a pair of owls which were not fit enough to live in the wild due to injuries. The twins were transferred to Brinzal in July.