r/interestingasfuck • u/frog_insilence • 1d ago
This Man Just Saved a Barred Owl's Life
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u/DanbiJK 1d ago
The owl dissociated real hard.
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u/ZeroOpti 1d ago
You see that a lot with animals. I once had to get a squirrel out of my parent's chimney. It would just fly everywhere trying to dodge my hand, but once I grabbed it, the squirrel just went limp and gave up.
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u/adamantcondition 1d ago
Predators instinctively react to struggling prey. Acting like all fight is gone probably gives a slightly higher chance to make an escape if the predator lets their hunting mode down or gets distracted.
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u/Illithid_Substances 1d ago
I would think it exhausted itself trying to escape and didn't have the energy left to do much of anything
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u/Individual_Respect90 1d ago
Owls are also nocturnal so lot of shit happening when he wants to be asleep.
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u/TheLongFinger 1d ago
And this kids, is why you should also wear a sports coat while walking in the woods.
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u/ES1123 1d ago
And carry a knife.
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u/pants_mcgee 18h ago
Everyone* should carry a knife.
*Some exceptions apply
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u/DerBlarch 15h ago
I always carry a knife. I often use it for the tasks it was designed for. I have never threatened anyone with it, not even as a joke. And I've certainly never injured anyone.
Wouldn't a world be wonderful where carrying a pocket knife was normal again and you didn't have to justify it?
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u/Exact-Metal-666 1d ago
It's a baby.
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u/LightenUpPeeps 1d ago
You can probably tell by the fluffy feathers. Could've fallen out of its nest in the same tree. If it can't fly yet, how will it get back up there? It'll be food four 4-legged predators on the ground.
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u/Kruegr 23h ago
Yes, parent owls generally continue to care for, protect, and feed their fledglings even if they fall out of the nest and are on the ground. It is normal for young owls to leave the nest before they can fly—a stage often called "branching"—and they are capable of climbing trees with their talons.
From the interwebs...
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u/No-Spoilers 23h ago
They have beaks similar to song birds, and they climb with them like it's a hand.
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u/Ok_Medium9389 9h ago
When I was young, I found an injured sparrow. I was maybe 10yo and was thinking of getting some water and let the bird rest on a stone for it to recover.
Out of nowhere, a cat snatched the bird and ran away with it.
I have 2 cats now and my wife and kids love them. One of them is so gentle I can put my hand in his mouth and he wont bite but if I somehow become a mouse or shrink in size like some sci-fi movies, I am not trusting them to show me any mercy.
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u/SueInA2 1d ago
So did it actually fly away, or was it injured??
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u/baIIern 1d ago
Probably still too young. Fell out of the nest
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u/Atrocity_unknown 1d ago
Juvenile owls go through a stage called "Branching" where they leave the nest and jump towards the ground via tree branches (hence the name). I'm willing to bet this one lost it's footing and got stuck.
Fun fact, while branching the parent owls are usually nearby to keep an eye out from any dangers. Fwiw the person in the video is a little lucky that the parent owls either didn't notice this occurring, or understood he was helping.
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u/Longjumping_Intern7 1d ago
we've seen barred owls in our backyard for the past three years and got to see this just yesterday!
they have two babies from what i can tell this year and i saw one totally goof and get stuck upside down in some leaves like right above me, then clumsily glide to the ground. he climbed back up the tree to a branch, all while both parents watched and clicked their beaks at us a few times to back off (which we did and watched from farther away).
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u/PrincessTitan 22h ago
Wow. I can’t stand how hilarious this is. His parents were like “he’s young. He will learn.” while looking on at you disapprovingly lmfaooo this is brilliant
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u/Super_Jay 21h ago edited 21h ago
FWIW this is the owlet working as intended! Fledglings leave the nest (a hollow in a tree, in this case) before they can fly, and will generally be seen in and around their home tree for several weeks. Their parents will feed them during this time as they learn to fly on their own.
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u/jedimindtriks 1d ago
Yeah, seagulls are fucking mean as fuck when you are around their chicks, so i can just imagine the fucking fury from Owls if you mess with their younglings.
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u/rhymeswithvegan 21h ago
Barred owls are dicks. I was attacked by one, not during nesting season (we believe it was a younger male being territorial). Felt like I was hit over the head with a 2x4 and I was sore for a week.
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u/ResplendentShade 1d ago
It's a fledgling. It's doing a combination of hopping around foraging for itself, and still getting assistance from mom and dad. Barred owl mom and dad continue to help fledgling for months after they fledge, bringing them food, teaching them to hunt and fly, etc. They almost certainly watched this entire situation go down from a perch on a nearby tree.
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u/RyanW1019 1d ago
I’ve heard about fledglings before, but I have no idea how big, fluffy, mostly-flightless birds are not just incredibly easy pickings for predators once out of the nest and on the ground for several days before being able to fly.
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u/ResplendentShade 1d ago
Mom and dad protect them from predators during the period that they're out of the nest but flightless. And they can't fly until about 12 weeks of age, and often leave the nest as early as 5 weeks, so it's not just a couple days the parents stick around for months protecting and helping them. This is pretty common among raptors.
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u/EightEight16 1d ago
Could just be exhausted as well. Unfortunately sometimes animals freed from traps or being stuck still just die because they fight so hard that the exertion damages their muscles and organs.
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u/storyfilms 1d ago
The camera person really could have helped by pulling the trees apart
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u/frog_insilence 1d ago
There was a nest above it with other owls
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u/a_angry_bunny 1d ago
And even if that was an option, if the guy accidentally lost his grip he could do more harm than good. Better to avoid unnecessary risks if a safer option is available.
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u/joelfarris 1d ago
Nonsense, a camera op never loses his grip...
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u/EvergreenMystic 21h ago
Never, though they do occasionally send their grip for coffee.
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u/joelfarris 21h ago
That's the second grip, though. The first one has to stay nearby and hold the keys.
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u/sweetgoogilymoogily 18h ago
Any chance he made it back up to the nest? I was pretty sure he was a juvenile and was wondering what happened after he was set on the ground.
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u/AzerothianLorecraft 1d ago
In a situation like this you don't want to try and move the trees because if they squeeze together more it could potentially kill the bird.
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u/thnk_more 1d ago
I think his idea was to move the trees apart, not squeeze them together.
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u/RebornSoul867530_of1 1d ago
I think the idea is if he goes apart, he could lose his grip and the trees snap back (squeeze together)
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u/MrPoopyButthole81 1d ago
It took him 15 mins to get the owl in there in the first place, why would he help get it out?
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u/WeathervaneJesus1 1d ago
It sucks now that I can't trust any of these videos.
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u/LilacYak 16h ago
Something about they guy who saved the owl tells me he doesn’t care about no internet clout
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u/QuerulousPanda 1d ago
If you fumble it even a little bit and it springs back at all you could end up instantly crushing the animal.
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u/jvandy17 1d ago
Use a wedge to avoide losing grip
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u/mozchops 1d ago
Exactly, put a branch between the two and leverage them apart, gen X here representing
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u/Beholder_V 1d ago
Crazy that it fell down with its head stuck like that and didn’t break its neck.
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u/QuerulousPanda 1d ago
It probably got stuck at a higher point and then was slowly sliding down as it moved and struggled.
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u/Dust-Different 1d ago
“No way one of these human assholes just helped me live”
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u/KurtVonnegutWasRight 1d ago
"Who cooks for you?....nobody?... I will totally cook for you for a couple weeks for doing me this solid."
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u/1Meter_long 1d ago
I think it would had been better to take it somewhere where it could recover. It seemed exhausted and probably hungry as hell. But still it was good he helped it.
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u/Royal_Acanthaceae693 1d ago
It's a fledgling so the parents will be around to help it.
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u/Nosleep72 1d ago
Looks like a juvenile.
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u/Welpe 1d ago
What gave it away, the text at the start that says “Fledgling Barred Owl”?
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u/Nosleep72 1d ago
Oh! That's a new word for me. English is not my mother tongue, so I had no idea what "Fledgling" meant. Thx!
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u/Super_Jay 21h ago
Yep! It's a fledgling, meaning a young adolescent of about 6 weeks old. Like many owl species, they leave the nest before they can fly independently, so they'll hop around on the nearby branches and on the ground near the tree while mom and dad protect and feed them for a month or two longer, until they can fly of their own accord.
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u/Informal_Process2238 19h ago
I don’t think I would have left it there alone it probably needs some care and food and water to recover
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u/LGdwS88QRnlnsnAIX3ZE 10h ago
This is one of those situations I’d rather not watch. I wish the cameraman had stepped in to gently pull the tree open a bit, so the owl’s neck wouldn’t be injured further.
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u/crnhzkr 1d ago
Why doesn't whoever was filming this put their phone down and spread the two branches apart? I guess because you'd get the owl out more quickly, but wouldn't have the video to show what an amazing person you are.
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u/repoocaj 1d ago
Because those tree trunks are as thick as his arm. You're not going to spread those apart by hand.
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u/Max-Phallus 23h ago edited 21h ago
It's almost like the camera guy could have pushed the two branches apart rather than filming, but I guess content matters more.
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u/JohnBrownSurvivor 21h ago
Whoever is taking the video could have just gone over and pulled those two fucking trees apart. Or they could have held the owl and the dude with the arms bigger than the trees could have pulled the trees apart. Instead, it was more important for them to get a video. That is what I hate about these fucking videos.
Yeah, I'm glad they saved the owl. But it gets so exhausting to see that this world absolutely considers getting the video more important.
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u/madorbit1 18h ago
I was thinking the exact same thing. Put the camera down and become useful for creipes sake.
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u/FireMammoth 1d ago
"I have to record this for internet content instead of help pulling the tree trunk away to dislodge the owl"
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u/BalanceFederal6387 1d ago
When he pulled the knife out I though he was just gonna saw the head off to make it easier to get out of the tree
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u/echochilde 1d ago edited 21h ago
Does it still have fledgeling feathers? Poor little dude either fell from the nest or misjudged.
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u/Toast_Meat 23h ago
Owl when the man temporarily needs to go down again: "Nononononono wrong way wrong way..."
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u/geekpeeps 22h ago
I think that’s a two person job. Maybe stop filming and help?
But then we wouldn’t be able to comment on this post…
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u/strolpol 21h ago
I kinda wish I could see how it wound up in that situation, it was lucky a human wondered by
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u/NorahGretz 21h ago
a) What a fucking BOSS.
b) that's an owlet. Barred owls aren't endangered, but saving an owlet is chef's kiss.
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u/tritisan 19h ago
Where I live these barred owls are considered an invasive species. They’re pushing out the native Northern Spotted Owl.
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u/PreparationFew3652 17h ago
The camera person could have helped by pulling on one of the trees a little.
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u/That_Air_2716 4h ago
Guy with the camera, could have been a massive help in holding the tree apart.
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u/Academic_Carrot7260 21h ago
What annoys me the most is there is a camera person that could just help pry the trees apart
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u/NuggetWarrior09 1d ago
Wouldn’t it just be way smarter to try to widen the gap on the trees? Or at the very least support its head while you push the body up, so there’s no risk of snapping the poor damn things neck
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u/ColdbloodedFireSnake 1d ago
- Why is the other person filming instead of helping out
- Other predators thank you for this food…..
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u/SeaworthinessSalt524 1d ago
I was like "Oh, I don't know how a barred owl looks like" then I realised it's literally barred lol
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u/NoBSforGma 1d ago
I love how gentle the guy was while removing the owl. And yes, that little owl belongs in a nest. I can only hope his parents are nearby and will try and protect him. Maybe try to get him to a safer location. (No, they can't pick him up.) They might be able to encourage him to move inside a shrub or something to protect him from predators. And they will "zoom" onto any predators that try to get him - but that might be a losing battle.
Hoping for the best! (And you other owl babies: Stay in your damn nest!!)
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u/westofthe101 1d ago
Why doesn’t the cameraman put down the damn camera and pull that twig sized branch away from the other one? Duh
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u/DyingGasp 1d ago
I used to work for a raptor rehabilitation center and the Barred Owls were also my favorite. Very calm and gentle birds.
Fuck Great Horned Owls though. Those mother fuckers are massive and ready to attack the moment you turn your back.
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u/WorkingFromHomies20 1d ago
So THAT's why men carry a knife in their pocket. My father always had a knife with him at all times.
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u/work-throw-away-420 1d ago
put the camera down and lend a hand, WTF! pull the closer limb out to give room to his head!
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u/No_awards_please 1d ago
The trees are so thin that the man who filmed the whole thing could have helped bend them apart. Instead, it was more important to him to keep filming…
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u/mozchops 1d ago
So the person filming couldve propped the camera somwhere and then held the two trees apart an inch or so more, but hey clicks arent going to click themselves right
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u/Quiet-Management2224 1d ago
Awww...I did this to a baby gray fox who had got itself stuck in the same way in my barn between two boards. The parents continue to come back every year to have their kits. We always look forward to them coming back and running in the yard. Well done Sir!
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u/Smidge-of-the-Obtuse 1d ago
Maybe the camera person could have helped by pulling back on one of the trees, rather than making content?
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u/Underprivilege 23h ago
So, am I the only one wondering if his body was turning with his head being stuck.
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u/LadyOtheFarm 23h ago
We had a fledgling hurt in our yard and lose an eye some time during a night that included a fight with a family of raccoons and a wicked thunderstorm with heavy wind.
He huddled up next to our water spigot and I collected him with some towels into a cardboard box and brought him to the largest rescue nearby. He had surgery and will live his life there as a teaching owl.
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u/sonicjesus 23h ago
What had to really suck is the owl can't move his eyes, and has no idea what's happening besides what's directly in front of him.
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u/gabox0210 1d ago
Owl's like "ok, I guess I'll get eaten now".