The owl who is afraid of HEIGHTS... and refuses to soar more than six-feet off the ground

For a Tawny Owl with a yardwide wingspan, the sky should be the limit.

But Troy prefers his bird's eye view to be no higher than 5ft 10in. The one-year-old has an inconvenient phobia: he's terrified of heights.

After an unfortunate start in life when he fell from his nest, Troy was raised in captivity by handler Gareth Tonen, who just happens to be 5ft 10in tall.



What a chicken!: Troy the tawny owl will not fly any higher than his handler, Gareth Tonen, pictured, who is 5ft 10in tall

As a result, Troy has grown up without any lofty aspirations of his own.

When it comes to trees, he can't see what all the fuss is about and would much prefer to cruise along at Mr Tonen's side.

Only when the 25-year-old handler shins up a tree at the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Andover, Hampshire, can Troy be tempted to leave his comfort zone and join him.

Ashley Smith, chief executive of the Trust, said Troy's apparent fear of heights was a result of forgetting how to be a bird.

He said: 'He's been in captivity for as long as he can remember and has never been higher than his handler can lift him.

'He sees himself as more of a human than an owl, he doesn't know how to sit in trees or hunt.

'Gareth has to almost act like an owl to get Troy to behave like one.'

As a result, a daily tree climb has become part of Troy's - and Mr Tonen's - routine.

Ladders have been fixed so Mr Tonen can scramble into the trees and call for Troy, who will fly up and join his handler - but go no higher.

Most of the time he will then fly down again, but occasionally Mr Tonen will have to carry him back to ground level.

The afternoon is rounded off with a meal of mouse, rabbit or, if Troy is lucky, his favourite, chicken.



In a flap: Troy stares nervously down at Mr Tonen from his precarious perch

Low flier: Troy copies his handler Gareth, who has taken to climbing trees to encourage Troy to fly high



Mr Tonen said: 'I don't think he even knows he's an owl - he thinks he's a Gareth. He sees himself as a small person rather than an owl. He now looks upon me as his mum and dad rolled into one.