Injured Owl Helped By York Police After Being Hit By Car
York police helped an injured owl after it had seemingly been struck by a vehicle.
Animal Control Officer Forrest Brenske said the station received a call Thursday morning that an owl had been hit near Route 91 in York and was injured to the point where the owl could not fly. A citizen brought the owl to the station a short time later and Brenkse helped transport the owl to the Center of Wildlife in nearby Cape Neddick where Brenske hopes the owl can make a full recovery.
"They are a wildlife rescue organization," Brenske said of the Center of Wildlife. "They handle all sorts of animals and anything from turtles, owls, ducks and everything in between. They are amazing and do a ton of good."
Calls to the Center of Wildlife were not immediately returned late Thursday morning.
Brenske said this was not the first owl he had transported to Cape Neddick and that "quite a few" owls are hit by vehicles each year, generally occurring during the dusk and dawn hours.
Brenske said this owl had seemingly suffered an injury to its wing and was noticeably timid when he personally interacted with it.
"The owl was definitely pretty scared and did not really know what was going on," Brenske told Seacoast Current when reached by phone. "It was obviously best to keep the stress to as little as possible with not a ton of people crowding around it."
Brenske said that, should someone encounter an injured owl, the first thing they should do is notify authorities. However, if it is necessary to pick up the owl, one should wear gloves or wrap a towel around an arm before lifting the owl with two hands, all the while being careful not to squeeze it too tightly.