Posts tagged "owl"

Sometimes owls can be very frightening. Expert hunters, they can seem to peer into your soul with their steely gaze. With their sharp talons and all-around intimidating style, they're not always the friendliest-looking birds around.

But every once in a while, an owl lets its guard down. Every once in a while, an owl needs an old-school headscratch, and you're the only one around--you and your magic fingers. And the owl tells you, "I'm going to put away my intimidation act for a minute, and you and I are going to share the cutest experience that will ever happen to you."

This picture of a great grey owl by wildlife photographer Jari Peltomäki is quite simply one of the most astounding and beautiful wildlife images we've ever seen.

[via Reddit]

It all started with a chipmunk.

Or really a prairie dog, but that's hardly the point. What's important here is that we love animal reaction videos, and yes that is a category unto itself in the world of viral videos, as evidenced by this supercut. Sure, you've seen most or all of these quick clips before, but packaged all together with an Inception musical bed, they're given new and improved life.

"Yeah, hawks are great, and eagles too, but when you're dropping mad science only owls will do."

We've talked before about how owls are soaring angels of death. Maybe that's because even though they can sometimes look like angry Muppets, they have an intensity of focus nigh unmatched in the animal kingdom. The ability to rotate their domes in any direction doesn't hurt either. Put a party hat on an owl. Put it in a straight jacket. Turn it, twist it, spin it. Pull it, flick it, bop it. It doesn't matter. When an owl has a delicious mouse in its sights, it has only one mission.

Have you ever been in a car crash? If you have, you're probably familiar with the phenomenon that people often describe of time seeming to slow down in an emergency. You panic, and a crisis that takes place in a matter of seconds seems to take much longer in your mind. Fear stimulates the amygdala of the brain, which also regulates memory production. So scientists believe that in emergencies, your memory creation snaps into overdrive, which may account for the slow-mo effect.

Now imagine you're a field mouse. You're booking it across the open grass, trying to get home as fast as you can to your mouse wife and your mouse kids. Suddenly the air grows a bit cooler as a shadow overtakes you, and you feel and hear the beating of wings above. You look up. What do you see? And angel of death glides steadily toward you, and your amygdala starts going crazy, causing your brain to generate instant, detailed memories of the last thing you will ever see. You see every feather of an owl's wings creating aerodynamically perfect flight. You see its legs unfold and extend forward toward you. You watch its talons spread out, opening slowly, ready to--

This week's photo from Daily Squee is a rarity here at Paw Nation in that the image technically contains no animals. What you're looking at is the remarkably detailed silhouette left behind by an owl who flew into the window of one Sally Arnold. But don't worry; the owl was not badly harmed by the collision, according to Arnold. "Our first concern was for the welfare of what we suspected was an owl and we opened up the window to check if it was still around. Fortunately, there was no sign of the bird and we can only assume that it had flown away probably suffering from a headache."

Have you ever heard a screech owl? It's kind of terrifying. It not the screech alone. It's that if you hear it, you're probably out in the middle of nowhere and there are no lights but the stars in the sky, and the sound hits your eardrums suddenly and you can't tell where it came from.

You know what's scarier than something screaming at you aggressively? Something starting at you aggressively in total. and complete. silence. Thank god whoever uploaded this video added that jaunty little tune. Otherwise these owls would populate my nightmares for a solid month.

For nine years, Russell Burt, the "owl man" of Plympton, Devon, U.K., has gone with his winged friends for leisurely walks through town, entertaining guests at village festivals, and generally sharing the joy of owl-human interaction right out in public. But not anymore.

According to the (U.K.) Daily Mail, a "member of the public" recently reported the Owl Man to the police for animal cruelty, "complaining that owls are nocturnal creatures and should be sleeping during the day, not parading on the streets of Plympton." Apparently, that's all it took for city officials to shut down Russell's activities for good.

Despite his owls' excellent manners and squeaky-clean criminal record, the town's animal-control officials informed Russell that he was no longer allowed to take his owls out of the house. "They told me that it was a danger to the public on a public highway and dangerous to the cars," Russell told the Daily Mail.

"In the wild, owls live a nocturnal lifestyle. We are concerned about welfare issues around exposing them to loud, hectic environments," one council member tells the Daily Express. "There are also safety issues for the public around a large, spooked bird of prey running amok on a highway," she adds.

Altogether, Russell owns seven owls: a Bengal eagle owl named Ben, a spotted eagle owl named Spot, a tawny owl named Mika, an African Scops named Scoppy, and three barn owls, named Misty, Chas and Scuff.

On the bright side for Burt and his birds, he will reportedly still be allowed to take his owls to schools and nursing homes to teach and entertain.

What do you think Paw Nation? Should the Owl Man be allowed to wander town with his birds or is it animal cruelty to keep the owls awake during the day?

Rounding up our favorite animal stories, photos, and videos on the web each week!

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  Holiday Pet Spoiling

  He wants that turkey. You know it; he knows it; the turkey knows it. So, instead of holding out and feeling guilty, throw him a few bones with this helpful guide from Petsugar. [via PetSugar]

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  Pilgrim Pets

  They've come on the Meowflower to land at Plymutt Rock, ready to share some Science Diet maize with the Indians. As with all dressed pets, cuteness levels are dangerously high. [via People Pets]

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  Owl Odd Couple

  Remember the movie "Twins" with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito? This is that in owl form. [via People Pets]

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  Squirrel Punishes Pooch

  Your baby is so cute. I just want to play with him and maybe bite him and eat him, but just a little bit. Ow! Why are you plunging your claws into me? Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Wait, where did you go? [via Dailymail.co.uk]

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  Black Friday Buy

  This Black Friday, there's going to be a huge rush on reindeer-poop jewelry. Oh, you didn't know reindeer-poop jewelry existed? Read this. [via AP]

This bird's eye view seems less than stellar.

With holidays and heatwaves approaching, there are tons of opportunities to crack open a new book, whether you're ocean side or relaxing on the couch. And for pet lovers, nothing warms the soul quite like inspirational animal stories. So grab your four-legged friend and dig into one of these page-turning pet reads.

For the Beach:

Hit the beach with 90 inspirational pet tales in Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: Stories About Pets as Teachers, Healers, Heroes and Friends. The collection celebrates the companionship we share with pets through heartwarming stories written by several New York Times Bestselling Authors.

Be sure to get your copy of Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs by Sharon Sakson before heading to the shore. The book regales dog-lovers with touching anecdotes about their favorite companions -- from helping their owners deal with the loss of a loved one to preventing seizures and detecting breast cancer.

Relax in your beach chair with The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients, a collection of comical, motivational and bizarre tales told by vets who have cared for zoo animals around the world. The 28 essays, including the titular story of a rhino with a glue-on shoe, are guaranteed to floor animal lovers.

For Long Weekends; For Your Coffee Table