One of two owls rescued by a Duluth, Minnesota woman in the same day has died.
22-year old Annabelle Whelan found the snowy owl Monday in Duluth in the grill of a car that had struck it.
In a Facebook post, Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Duluth says the owl had internal injuries, a broken wing and a broken leg. The post says "because the injuries could not be fixed and the bird would be unable to fly again, the kindest option available was a peaceful passing via euthanasia."
Whelan also rescued a great gray owl she found severely injured on the ground in Two Harbors, just north of Duluth. That bird continues to receive treatment at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center in St. Paul.
The great gray owl suffered broken bones and large soft tissue wounds in a wing, Wildwoods said in the post. The injuries are severe, but veterinarians at The Raptor Center in St. Paul “are doing everything they can to give this bird a chance at recovery,” the post said.
Whelan, a 22-year-old Lake Superior Zoo guest experience manager, scooped up the owl in a blanket, transferred him to a dog crate in the car and took it to Wildwoods.
Amazingly, Whelan was out with her boyfriend’s family later Monday in Duluth when she spotted another injured owl — this one the snowy owl that had collided with a car and was in the grille. Since Wildwoods had already closed, Whelan took the snowy owl home for the night.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.