LONG HILL — Simon, the rusty-red Eastern Screech Owl who was stolen from his cage at Raptor Trust, returned home last night.

A Monmouth County woman who works at an animal hospital brought in the owl about 9 p.m., said Len Soucy Jr., president and founder of the bird rehabilitation center in Long Hill.

The woman called Soucy around 7 p.m. and told him she could get the bird, he said.

"I told her I would keep my word," Soucy said of the conversation, adding that he still has no idea who took the bird. "As long as Simon is in good health and he’s safe, we wouldn’t press charges."

The 5-to-8-ounce bird, one of the most common owls in New Jersey, went missing from Raptor Trust sometime before Thursday morning. Someone had cut through a wire cage that held four owls, and took Simon, who suffers from neurological and vision damage.

After the discovery, Soucy, who said there’s never been a theft in more than 40 years, decided to close the center to the public.Soucy said last night Simon’s feathers are a little disheveled but he’s not hurt.

Simon, whose gender is undetermined, came to Raptor Trust six years ago as an adult after being hit head-on by a car in Pennsylvania and workers said his injuries make it hard for him to balance or fly.

Now that Simon is home, Soucy said, he plans to fix the damage to the cages and adds that "all I cared about was the owl."

When asked if he would open his aviaries, or flight cages for birds, to the public again he said yes, but that he doesn’t know when.

"We’re trying to educate people here," said Soucy, who often says of birds, "if I teach people how not to break them, then I won’t have so many to fix."

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