Securing the title of the world’s largest owl requires a 6-foot, 3-inch wingspan. Having only 1,700 mature individuals remaining leaves Blakiston’s fish owl in a highly vulnerable state.

People are being asked to be eagle-eyed in a search for a 2ft (60cm) tall bird of prey who escaped from an enclosure in West Sussex. Buddy, an eagle owl with a 5ft (1.5m) wingspan, went missing from a ...