Aggressive owl targeting people and pets prompts town to issue safety warning
A flurry of owl attacks on Southern Vancouver Island has prompted the town of Sidney, B.C., to issue a warning to locals traipsing through a particular park.
According to a notice posted on social media, the municipality has been receiving calls about owls behaving aggressively toward people and pets in Reay Creek Park.
Town staff are now asking residents to use caution when walking in the park's trails, especially at dawn and dusk when owls prefer to stalk their prey.
"Wear a hat and keep small pets on a leash nearby," advised the town in its online post.
(Mr.Ciezynski/Submitted to The Weather Network)
Reay Creek Park is not the only place in the Capital Regional District where owls are reportedly dive-bombing people.
Last week, a jogger was hit repeatedly in the back of the head while running near the University of Victoria campus, according to The Martlet, the university's newspaper.
There was also a recent report of a pedestrian being attacked in the Fernwood neighbourhood in the City of Victoria.
"There is not really a lot you can do about it, you gotta just hope the talons don't make contact with your head," said Jannaca Chick, secretary of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory and the head of their owl banding program.
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Chick, speaking Tuesday on CBC's On The Island, said the aggressive owls are likely barred owls which are abundant in the area.
She said it is not uncommon for the birds to be aggressive with people in the spring when they are nesting with eggs, but it is a bit bizarre at this time of year. Chick figures they are likely juvenile owls mistaking things as prey.
"These might be inexperienced, young barred owls who are looking for food, looking for prey, and something is triggering them," she said.
Triggers, said Chick, could be a bobbing ponytail, a pom-pom on a hat or squeaking sounds that could be mistaken for a rodent.
Barred owls are raptors that feast on rodents, rabbits and squirrels and other small mammals. They also enjoy snacking on various birds, snakes, salamanders and some insects, according to the National Audubon Society.
In B.C., they like to live in dense, wooded areas and prefer nesting in the hollowed-out tops of dead Douglas firs.
To stay out of harm's way, Chick says it is best to avoid where attacks have been reported. Barred owls are highly territorial and the only defence for dive-bombing is basically to duck and run.
"They could do a little damage," said Chick.
Thumbnail courtesy of David Gray/CBC.
The story was written and published for CBC News. It contains files from On The Island.
