Owl saved from electrical fence adopts abandoned owlet
Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. When animals end up in a wildlife center, it’s usually not for happy reasons. But sometimes tough situations have a silver lining, and that’s exactly what’s happened at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington Boro, Pennsylvania. The rescue center received a call from a game warden about a female great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) that had gotten stuck in an electrical fence. The game warden had successfully removed her from the fence, but the owl was struggling, unable to stand or fly. Thinking the owl may have broken a wing, he took her to the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center. Thankfully, neither of the owl’s wings broke, though one of them appeared swollen. While examining the patient, licensed wildlife rehabilitator Tracie Young noticed that the great horned owl had a brood patch—essentially a bare patch of skin that develops to provide a direct heat source for eggs. That meant she was a mama owl. Unfortunately, with the time that had …



