Brent Matsuda said he'd seen signs at Squint Lake Park warning of an aggressive owl in the area, but he "didn’t think it would be a big concern" until his toddler was attacked Saturday afternoon.
We've all by now probably seen the leopard party meme. If not:
Barred Owls are one of the more territorial owls, and news of their aggression towards humans are not uncommon around breeding season (December to March) as owls protect their home territory.
In the full article the dad, who is said to be a biologist, ignored the signs warning of the Barred Owls, and let his toddler run loose. The child was cut by the owl's talons, almost cutting his eye, and now the father is calling for the park to have the owl put down.
I know dramatic action is sometimes taken when a dog attacks someone, but dogs are domestic animals. I'm not sure punishing a wild animal for doing what is its nature is correct.
I try to avoid non-positive things here, but in looking up owl articles and such to share, there are many articles about barred owls and pedestrians getting into altercations. I'm curious as to what your opinions are in this. We're probably all pro-owl here, but do you feel there's a point where an owl can be problematic enough that some sort of action should be taken, and what should that action be?
In this instance I am definitely pro owl. The humans ignored very clearly posted warnings about a territorial animal in the area and are shocked that the animal behaved aggressively. In this case, the owl was defending its territory and not going out if it’s was to target anyone.
As for a case of an animal being problematic enough for action, I am going to refer to our local menace Otter 841. Otter 841 is behaving very uncharacteristically for an otter. Instead of giving humans wide breadth, she actively swims up to surfers and climbs aboard. The issue here is that she is seeking out humans and engaging with them, which is dangerous for both the surfers and the otters. I guess the line for needing to take action is when an animal is both aggressive and actively seeking out humans. If the wild animals are only aggressive in situations where humans antagonize them, like violating their territory or cornering them, then the wild animals shouldn’t be put down. In the case of Otter 841, I like that their approach is to attempt to capture the otter and relocate her to a rehabilitation facility with no possibility of parole. I know it’s not always realistic to do so, but I don’t like defaulting to putting down wild animals. I agree though that aggressive domestic animals like dogs are a completely different situation.
Otter 841 stealing surfboard
That is funny, thank you for this!
I agree we should not punish an animal for natural behavior. If it was going out of its way or was stalking a more active place like a parking lot, action may need to be taken, but in the forest I feel is his territory.