Owl described as fighter' set to fly free after falling into cement mixer in Utah

"The great horned owl was found at the Black Desert Resort in the south-western part of the state and arrived at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, earlier this month with its face, chest and right wing covered in dried concrete. After making sure the bird could breathe, sanctuary workers spent days cracking apart the concrete using forceps and cleaning its feathers using toothbrushes, dish soap and their fingers. Two weeks later, it was able to fly again and is continuing its recovery in an aviary."

"Great horned owls typically have a downy coating on their feathers that allows them to fly silently as they hunt. But the concrete frayed the rescued owl's feathers, said Judah Battista, Best Friends' chief sanctuary officer. Now the bird makes a whooshing sound as it flies, and the sanctuary won't release it into the wild until it sheds its feathers and can again fly silently. That should occur next spring or summer, Battista said."

"Once our owl friend recovers, we anticipate taking him back to near where he was found, not on the construction site, but somewhere that is a natural habitat for him and release him and let him be, Richwalski said."

A young great horned owl was found partially encased in concrete at the Black Desert Resort in south-western Utah and brought to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab. Sanctuary staff confirmed the bird could breathe, then spent days cracking concrete from its feathers and cleaning with forceps, toothbrushes, dish soap and fingers. The owl regained the ability to fly within two weeks and remains in an aviary for recovery. Concrete frayed its downy flight feathers, producing a whooshing flight sound, so release will wait until new feathers restore silent flight, expected next spring or summer. Release will occur near the original area but in natural habitat away from construction.

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