Tiny Owl Tangled In Fishing Line With Hook In Its Wing Gets Rescued

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Mar 28, 2021 10:00 AM EDT

After finishing a boat trip on Monday afternoon, Salmon River fishing guide, Shane Thomas, had noticed an itty bitty bird wrapped up in fishing line. The little owl that he found is of the smallest owl species found in New York, and, being the kind, animal-loving man that he is, he absolutely could not leave the bird as it was.

"It was absolutely appalling to see, so we had to take action. There was absolutely no way I could live with leaving it there suffering," said Thomas, of Salmon River Guide Service in Pulaski, reports syracuse.

Read more of the story and check out pictures below!

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via syracuse

The tiny bird was stuck "in a tree branch near the ground about 50 yards upstream on the other side of the river from the boat launch at the Ball Park in Pulaski." Thomas had directed his 17-year-old son, David, who was coming in behind him in a smaller drift boat with a friend, to go get the bird. "There was a huge hook stuck in its right wing and it was hanging upside down for God knows how long," Thomas said.
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via syracuse

For the first few minutes, the son tried to gently untangle the fishing line, but it was not working. And to avoid dragging the experience out any longer than necessary and frightening the poor bird even more, Thomas yelled at his son to simply cut the line. The son managed to pull the hook out of the bird's wing, release it, and bring it back to the launch. It looked like the poor bird was in shock, barely moving, but at least it was safe.
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via syracuse

"We as fisherman lose (stuff) in trees. So besides having compassion we should, to some degree, feel responsible (for things like this happening)," said Thomas, who had been guiding on that river for over 30 years. "It's not the first time I've seen birds wadded up in line/hooks in trees, but it was the first time one was alive." As the son was rescuing the bird, Thomas was looking for animal rehabilitators online.
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via syracuse

Thankfully, he found one, bringing the injured and terrified bird to Kindred Kingdoms Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Pennellville. "The good news is we've had it checked out by a veterinarian," said Jean Soprano, of Kindred Kingdoms. "We were worried since the hook was taken out of its wing. X-rays were taken and there were no fractured bones in the bird's wing. The hook went through just soft tissue."
A happy, feelgood story for the weekend, of people doing the right thing and inspiring us all to be better, and we are grateful. We hope this birdy will be released back into the wild soon, and will live out its life as it should have.
Read about the same tiny owl species being discovered late last year inside of a Christmas tree right here!
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