Electrical wires left an owl hanging upside down in Big Bear, Calif., but a utility crew found it alive and rescued it.
Here's what to know
A look from the great horned owl set the rescue in motion, CBS News Los Angeles reported. Apprentice lineman Adam Perry had initially doubted that the bird could have survived.
With one leg caught between two wires, the nocturnal owl was left hanging in daylight. A Bear Valley Electric Service crew shut off the power after discovering the owl was alive.
The owl remained unusually cooperative throughout the work to release it. Workers brought it upright with the truck's jib, then pulled the wires apart to free its leg.
"He was allowing my lineman to touch him," foreman Drake Tessendorf said, per CBS News Los Angeles.
The freed owl landed on the home below the crew, Perry said, before Christy McGiveron of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo treated it. Tessendorf said the bird had not tried to bite the worker or resist his touch.
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"He wanted the help is what it felt like," Tessendorf said.
More background
According to McGiveron, the Big Bear Alpine Zoo had rescued 80 birds this year, CBS News Los Angeles reported.
McGiveron said human-made hazards top the list of threats to great horned owls.
"Being hit by a car is usually the No. 1 reason we get them, because they're not super fast flyers," she told CBS News Los Angeles.
What's being done?
Monitoring and treatment took place at the Big Bear Alpine Zoo's facility.
"We gave him fluids and some pain meds for about three days," McGiveron said.
Just six nights after the rescue, the owl was returned to the wild. Before the release, the care team provided a place to rest and took X-rays.
Beyond the crew's hands-on response, Bear Valley Electric said it is covering electrical connections to protect wildlife. That work is another way the company is taking local action to address the human-made hazards McGiveron described.
"That's personally one of my favorite parts of my job," McGiveron said of the owl's rescue. "Giving them a second chance."
Where can I learn more?
Other owls have needed help escaping human-made hazards, too.
• In Arizona, crews cut away fishing line after a jogger spotted an owl dangling from a power pole.
• In California, a barn owl lunged for a mouse in glue traps, leaving its beak sealed shut.
• In California, firefighters used a leaf skimmer to scoop an owl from a backyard pool.
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