An owl accidentally struck by a semi truck is recovering nicely thanks to the trucker who called for help.
The owl was discovered on the flatbed of a semi truck at around 2:30 a.m. on February 24th in Little Rock, Arkansas.
According to Fox 16, the unnamed trucker contacted Little Rock Police when he didn’t know what else to do, and the officers answered the call.
While the rescue was not a typical night for officers, they did the best they could, using a towel and a cardboard box to safely collect the bird for transportation to the Little Rock Zoo, who promised to take it from there. The entire rescue was captured on the body cam of a participating officer.
“Hey Mr. Owl,” one of the officers can be heard saying as he wrangles the stunned animal.
“Anyone have any idea what kind of owl that is?” the concerned trucker can be heard saying in the background.
Soon after the rescue, the Little Rock Zoo transferred the bird to the Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas, where the bird will stay to recover for the next six weeks. Although experts say the owl appears in very good health, considering the circumstances.
“About 95% of our intakes come from car strikes,” said Rodney Paul with the Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas. “I thought I’d be picking up just a bundled messed up bunch of feathers- mangled feathers, I really did.”
“Really amazed when I found out there were no injuries to it,” Paul continued.
“You can tell he’s sore, we’re gonna keep him on pain medications for about five days. Very good prognosis on this one right here– very high expectations for this one to be released.”
Way to go, driver!