This barred owl was saved from a likely car strike last fall.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
June 23, 2021 - 12:00 PM
A B.C. Mountie showed they gave a hoot about more than just criminals last fall when they came across an owl that had likely been hit by a car and took it to safety.
In the late hours of September 2020, an officer with BC Highway Patrol came across the bird on Highway 7 near Ruby Creek.
RCMP said the owl appeared injured and with the assistance of a second highway patrol officer and a member from Hope RCMP who attended the scene with a dog kennel and a blanket, the owl was coaxed into the kennel and safely transported to Hope Detachment.
A volunteer from the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Delta travelled to the Hope detachment to bring the owl to the rehabilitation facility.
In February this year, the OWL Society contacted the officer to report that the Barred Owl had recovered from its injury (a broken wing, possibly from being struck by a passing vehicle). The rehabilitation facility wished to release the owl into the area in which it was found.
The three officers involved in the rescue, along with their families and volunteers from the OWL Society returned to an undisclosed location near the rescue site and set the owl free into its natural habitat, where it took flight like it was never injured.
"This was a truly unique experience and it was an honour to be the person to release the owl back into the wild," Const. Brian Woelders of BC Highway Patrol in Chilliwack said in a press release. "I am happy that our families were able to witness this, too, and I want to thank the OWL Society for involving us with the release. It was a hoot."
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