The Ohio Division of Natural Resources recently released a field report for northwest Ohio.
During the summer of 2021, state wildlife officer Eric VonAlmen, assigned to Wood County, received a call from a resident about an owl in their yard.
The owl had been on the ground for several hours and was unable to fly. When Officer VonAlmen arrived, he found a juvenile great horned owl on the ground and in poor condition. The owl was captured and transported to Nature’s Nursery Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Lucas County.
The rehabilitators determined the owl was infected with West Nile Virus, which is commonly spread among birds by mosquitoes. They treated the owl and brought it back to full strength.
The owl was then released back into the wild near the area where it was captured.
The ODNR and Nature’s Nursery express apprciation to concerned citizens and licensed wildlife rehabilitators who help important wildlife species to receive assistance in recovering from illness and injury.
