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Calgary police officers become smitten with injured owl: ‘she was laying on the sidewalk’

Click to play video: 'Owl rescue highlights softer side of Calgary law enforcement'
Owl rescue highlights softer side of Calgary law enforcement
WATCH: On Wednesday two police officers rescued an injured great horn owl after it flew into a building in downtown Calgary. As Tracy Nagai reports the officers and the owl had an instant connection. – Nov 23, 2017

Two Calgary police officers became quite smitten with an injured owl they saved from a downtown sidewalk and brought to a wildlife rehabilitation centre on Wednesday.

Constables Paul Fisher and Alexe Razvan responded to an animal complaint in the downtown core and found several concerned passersby surrounding an injured owl being picked at by magpies.

“Well, we saw the little owl, she was laying on the sidewalk not moving, obviously alive and her eyes were opening and closing, obviously afraid. We weren’t sure how injured she was,” Fisher told Global News.

“There was a passerby that got a box for us and we grabbed a jacket — [Razvan’s] work jacket — and we put her in the jacket and put her in a box. And silence, not a peep out of her the whole time.”
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The two officers were quite taken with the great horned owl. In a video taken by Fisher, Razvan is seen kissing the owl’s head as he cuddles the docile bird in his jacket.

“I think she liked being in the jacket, it was cozy, warm, we got her in the van, turned the music off and [got her] nice and warm in the van… it was good,” Fisher said.

“It was obvious that she had some sort of an injury and we sort of suspect that she flew into the building,” Razvan said, adding the bird wasn’t opposed to being swaddled and placed in the box.

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Razvan, the more hands-on of the two, was the one to actually scoop the owl up, saying he wasn’t afraid if the owl scratched or bit him in the process.

“It’s two or three years old by my understanding, but it’s a pretty good size, has pretty good talons and a good beak,” Razvan said. “But super cool to be able to hold it.”

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The pair took the owl to the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, where they’d taken other animals in the past.

“We have a pretty good… track history with that, so we are the animal complaint guys wherever we can,” Razvan said.

“Cats, dogs, rabbits… pigeons… owls now. I’ve never saved an owl before… that’s a first.”

Jennifer McFarland at the rehabilitation centre said the owl was suffering from significant head trauma, likely from striking a window or building.

“In the condition that she was in when she was brought in, she probably wouldn’t have survived the rest of the day had she not been brought into the hospital,” McFarland said.

She commended the officers for bringing the owl to them, adding that when members of the public bring animals to their centre, it saves time for staff who otherwise would have to go fetch the injured animal themselves.

“We get help from all over the city – we’ve got fish and wildlife officers, police officers, firefighters and then just regular citizens that help us out,” she said. “These particular officers have been at our facility before, so it’s nice to see them again.”

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McFarland said the prognosis for the owl is good if it can survive through the night.

As for Fisher and Ravzan, they’re just happy they could  help the bird feel safe and secure on its trek to the animal hospital.

“Hopefully she is going to make a recovery and, you know, go and catch some mice I guess,” Ravzan said.

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