Boater rescues drowning owl on Lake Lanier

http://www.forsythnews.com/section/1/article/22256/#comments

By Crystal Ledford
POSTED: February 3, 2014

A day after he rescued a drowning owl on Lake Lanier, a south Forsyth boater was still marveling over the unusual encounter.

Brendan Mazur was aboard his small recreational tugboat near Bald Ridge Marina around daybreak Sunday when he noticed what appeared to be a large bird floating in the calm, cold water.

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When what turned out to be a Great Horned Owl saw the boat approaching through the fog, Mazur said it “was determined to get aboard.”

----- [read the article at the link above for the whole story, which is very interesting]

Frazier said Manzur is fortunate the owl was exhausted when he wrapped it in a towel.

“Of all our birds of prey, none has a more debilitating grip than a Great Horned Owl,” he said. “When they get tired, they’re less likely to attack you. So he’s lucky the bird was tired or willing to be rescued or some combination of the two.”

Overall, Frazier said it seems as though Manzur “did everything right” in using caution when handling the bird, giving it a place to rest and then returning it to a perch. But he did remind the public to always be careful when dealing with wildlife.

“We encourage people to provide reasonable assistance [to animals] like this guy did, but to always be aware that even these little birdies can hurt you,” he said.