P R E S S R E L E A S E
HOWELL, Mich. – A call came in on Friday, December 11th, alerting the Howell Nature Center (HNC) wildlife team to an injured snowy owl in Linden, MI. The caller had almost run the bird over, only striking the bird with their car instead. The bird sustained road rash on its right wing, resulting in damaged flight feathers and swelling.
While the HNC wildlife team rarely has the time or resources to go out on rescue missions, two staff members offered to help as they knew that this young snowy owl was highly susceptible to predation. Evin Luehr, Wildlife Education Coordinator, and Chelsea Hatcher, Wildlife Park Coordinator, dropped what they were doing and hit the road. Despite being grounded, the bird still gave the two wildlife experts quite the runaround. Finally, they were able to catch the injured bird and transport it back to HNC.
After an initial assessment, the snowy owl has been determined to be a young, juvenile male. He is in overall good health, and the HNC wildlife team is optimistic that after some time for his wing to heal, he will be released back into the wild.
The Howell Nature Center is in the running for a $20,000 prize through the Detroit New's Holiday Cheer for Charity content! They are currently in second place, and need your help to win. If you would like to make a donation toward the snowy owl care, head to https://detnewscheer2020.fundrazr.com/ to make a meaningful contribution. Regardless of whether they win or not, the HNC will keep all funds raised.
The owners of a nearby feed store reported that the snowy owl had been hanging around for almost three weeks, hunting in the cow pasture across the street. Many snowy owls choose to migrate to the lower 48 states from their usual Arctic habitat, with winter being less harsh down here. Young snowy owls who venture down south for the first time often run into issues with new, unknown types of predators and with traffic due to denser human populations.
For all the latest happenings at HNC, as well as educational and fun content for all ages, visit their FACEBOOK. If you have any questions, call (517) 546-0249 or e-mail info@howellnaturecenter.org.
