Ohio State trooper rescues injured owl found alongside highway
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Mansfield, OH - An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper is being praised for swooping in to rescue an owl that was found injured alongside a highway.
OSHP posted on social media that Trooper Beck saved an injured barred owl that was found along U.S. 30 near U.S. 42 near Mansfield on March 9.
Body-worn camera video shows the trooper getting out of his vehicle, grabbing a pair of gloves out of the trunk of his SUV and walking up behind the owl.
The trooper gently grabs the owl and walks back to his cruiser. While he’s trying to open the door, the trooper could be heard saying, “Please don’t dig your claws into me.” The owl was then placed onto the floor of the backseat.
The trooper took the owl to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary in Mansfield, where he told an employee that the owl was struck and found in the median.
After getting the owl out of the cruiser, the employee took it into the sanctuary and placed it in a container.
On Wednesday, Ohio Bird Sanctuary told 10TV that the barred owl rescued by Beck is "doing really well."
When the owl first arrived at the sanctuary, curator Amanda Vanderford said it had symptoms that confirmed severe blunt force trauma, including blindness. After several days of intense care treatments and constant monitoring, the owl showed signs of improvement.