20260524-Great Horned Owl-1

Our rescue team got a call from the Allen County Sheriff's Department about a Great Horned Owl stuck in a soccer net at the Jorgensen Family YMCA off of Aboite Center Road. Officers were able to cut the owl out of the net, but it did not immediately fly off, and some netting remained stuck to the bird.

By the time I arrived on the scene, the officers had been watching the bird from a distance, fending it off from crows. As soon as the bird spotted me, it flew into a nearby yard, and officers and I chased the owl through the yard as it struggled to fly with the netting covering most of its body. 

This suspect was surprisingly quick. Officers and I cornered the bird in a shrub in the front yard, where I successfully apprehended the assailant. Luckily, the bird sustained no injuries, and after our team in the ICU cut off the remaining netting, we were able to release the bird

Rescuer Mila