Owl doing OK after being hit by SUV, getting stuck in front grill

CAMROSE, Alta. – Some high school students, a teacher, and a Alberta fish and wildlife officer worked together to free a Great horned owl stuck in the front grill of an SUV.

The SUV, which belongs to an employee at a high school near Camrose, southeast of Edmonton, hit the owl while on the highway, and it got caught in the front end.

The employee thought the bird was dead but when she returned a few hours later, found it staring back at her.

Fish and wildlife officer Lorne Rinkel got the call on Dec. 13 and went to the school.

He says students rolled the vehicle into their work bay and the owner gave permission to the shop teacher to cut away part of the grill to help him get out the bird.

Rinkel reached in with heavy leather welding gloves and lifted it out, and says he was amazed it was uninjured.

"It had a small amount of blood on one of its legs, but the legs and wings were fine. There were a lot of happy students taking videos and pictures, almost cheering, you might say.”

He placed it in a box for nearly 10 hours in hopes of giving it some time to warm up from the bitter cold.

Rinkel later took it to a rural area and opened up the lid. It hopped out and flew into the full moon.

“It was almost like a fairy tale, it’s quite amazing that it survived the impact," Rinkel said.

“I’ve seen, unfortunately, lots of dead birds of prey in front grill, but I’ve never seen one survive."

(CFFR)