A Pennsylvania game warden pulled a small owl from a freezing swimming pool, unsure at first whether the bird was alive.
At Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, staff spent hours drying and warming the exhausted eastern screech owl before it recovered enough to be released back into the wild.
Here's what to know
According to WHP CBS 21, staff at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center worked for hours to warm and dry the owl before conducting an examination.
The examination showed the animal was exhausted but not injured. Over several days, supportive care, including fluids, rest, and meals, helped the bird regain enough strength for it to return to the wild.
The rescue depended on the response by the game warden and Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, which allowed the owl to return to Pennsylvania's ecosystem.
More background
Raven Ridge Wildlife Center described eastern screech owls as clever birds with attitudes that belie their size. The center said they may even play dead when they are threatened or scared, WHP reported.
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In Pennsylvania, the owls are more often gray, though the species also appears in red.
An eastern screech owl can also eat more than 1,000 mice each year, helping keep small mammal populations under control.
Native predators keep local ecosystems balanced, and each successful rehabilitation and release can support that effort in the woods, fields, and communities where wildlife lives.
What's being done?
Raven Ridge Wildlife Center used a rehabilitation approach centered on fluids, rest, and food. Over days, that supportive care gave the owl enough strength to recover.
"The eastern screech owl may be small, but it has a big personality," the facility stated.
Where can I learn more?
These other owl rescues show how the predators can end up in danger and how much expert care can matter.
• In Arizona, rescuers pulled a barn owl from an open water trough.
• In Gladstone, Missouri, police and animal control freed an owl trapped in a soccer net.
• Firefighters launched a dramatic effort to rescue an owl lodged in a car grille.
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