Lake Superior Zoo Employee Rescues 2 Owls in One Day

DULUTH, Minn.– You’ve heard stories of people rescuing stray animals like dogs or cats, but how about two owls in one day!

Lake Superior Zoo Employee Annabell Whelan played a big role in saving both a great grey owl and a snowy owl in the same day.

“So, I kind of went along with my day, and thought, that was kind of cool,” said Whelan, reflecting on the morning rescue.

The first owl, the great grey, was rescued up in Two Harbors.

Stunned and surprised, Whelan was told by her Lake Superior Zoo employees to bring him to Wildwoods.

He was then transferred to the raptor center in Minneapolis.

But the day of rescue didn’t stop there.

“So later, we are leaving Bentleyville, and I’m walking, and I see something from the corner of my eye. And I’m like oh, that’s kind of weird what is that. And I’m like wait a second, that doesn’t look right,” said Whelan.

There, she spotted the second owl of the day. A snowy owl, who found herself wedged in a car grille.

“I had to move the broken pieces of grill to kind of weasel it out. And she just let me hold her, like she wasn’t fighting. She was obviously like stunned. We couldn’t see any initial injuries or anything. She was definitely just in shock,” explained Whelan.

According to the Executive Director for Wildwoods, they see roughly 30 owls a year. But never two in one day.

Whelan took the owl home and kept her safe overnight.

“It’s really up to the community, you know we can’t do this without people bringing animals to us. So, I really appreciate it. To have somebody go out of their way two days in a row to help an injured animal is something really special,” said Jessica LaBumbard, the Executive Director for Wildwoods.

If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, there are a few things to keep in mind.

“The thing we have to remember is that wild animals don’t like humans, and so they stress incredibly easy. The most important thing actually when you find a wild animal that’s injured, call us.
But then the animal needs to be taken to quiet place where it can be alone,” explained LuBumbard.

“This is like a Christmas miracle. I’m not usually about that sort of thing but it was truly a miracle, and it was probably one of the best outcomes,” said Whelan.

Right now, the snowy owl received some care at Wildwoods and will be transferred to the raptor center in Minneapolis.

If you want to help out future rescues, you can visit their website to donate to Wildwoods.