You’re not seeing double, these Great Horned Owl siblings were admitted to the rehab center yesterday after they were BOTH found tangled in the same soccer net at a local school! The maintenance employee spotted our entangled pair and carefully removed them. They were brought to the center for exams as both had bruising due to being caught for an unknown amount of time.
Soccer and sports nets are a major hazard for owls and other birds of prey. Because owls hunt at night and are highly focused on tracking prey (like mice that gather near athletic fields), they often fail to see the netting and become hopelessly tangled. As the owl thrashes around to escape, the netting wraps tightly around its wings and legs, leading to severe fractures, dislocated joints, constricted blood flow, and torn feathers. Young, inexperienced Great Horned Owls are especially prone to these accidents as they learn to hunt on their own.
The easiest and most effective way to protect local owls is to remove sporting nets from the goals after practices and games, or simply tip the entire goal frame over so the netting lies flat on the ground.
So many Great Horned soccer hooligans! 🦉⚽🥅