Stressed Out Owl Saved by Kelowna SPCA

An owl who made its way downtown has been rescued by the SPCA.

Just after 11 a.m. the BC SPCA Kelowna branch received a call about a stressed out owl stuck on Ellis Street.

Suzanne Pugh, Branch Manager for the Kelowna SPCA said the owl had flown off from its family.

“It had made its way into a risky area. We knew that there were some nests in that area and a couple of really great citizens passed by and saw the owl between two condo units. Apparently overnight it worked its way into a construction site near Ellis Street.”

The owl eventually became trapped inside a construction bucket at the work site. When workers tried to move the bucket this morning, the bird flew out and landed across the street.

The young owl tried to fly up to a balcony but crashed into a glass railing and ended up on the ground.

Amazing to see this little guy downtown today taking in the sites! BCSPCA were called to help #whootwhoot pic.twitter.com/ywAIB1jbzx

— Downtown Kelowna (@DowntownKelowna) March 24, 2016

“There was just a lot of foot traffic and citizens and individuals were taking shots because it’s such a cool looking bird. We decided if we were able to safely contain it, which we were, we’d bring it to the shelter for the rest of the day,” Pugh said.

The owl is currently in the quiet room at the SPCA and will be released back to its family this evening.

If people do spot an owl around the downtown area, where they shouldn’t be wandering, Pugh said they should call the SPCA and not chase after them.

“When they’re so young they can expend a lot of energy quite quickly. They can use a lot of energy trying to escape from somebody and then they’d have nothing left to hunt with later on that night. They need those reserve energies when they’re so young.”