A Burnaby, B.C., father has serious concerns after his two-year-old son was hurt in an owl attack this past weekend.
Brent Matsuda said his toddler son Bryce was cut on his face and ear after a barred owl swooped down and attacked him at Squint Lake Park on Saturday.
“My son was very lucky, it came within millimetres of hitting his eye,” the father told Global News.
Matsuda is a wildlife biologist and said the park was home to multiple owl attacks this past summer. He said it is very unusual behaviour for owls to be attacking outside of breeding season.
“I’ve always been an advocate of owl conservation and have worked with owls over my 30-year career.… This is an outlier. It’s an aggressive owl. It needs to be destroyed, I hate to say it,” he said.
According to the father, no signage was visible at the scene where Bryce was attacked.
Since the attack, city warning signage has been posted in the area where it occurred.
A couple who enjoy the park frequently told Global News they like the owls in the park.
“I love the fact the owls are here. Just walking through here the last couple of years … I love the fact that they’re coming back,” Mat Herrmann said.
“I see the owl . I can hear it but it never attacked us, it never did anything.” Laura Herrmann
Global News has reached out to the City of Burnaby for comment.
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