Crime & Safety

Animal Control Officers Rescue Owl in Mount Vernon

Senior owl taken to a rehabilitation center in Falls Church.

Fairfax County Animal Control officers fielded calls from dozens of concerned Mount Vernon residents who saw an owl exhibit erratic behavior last week.

Animal Control officers responded to the Richmond Highway and Sacramento Drive intersection last week to investigate the reports of the owl, who was flying wildly linto cars, signs, and buildings. On Friday morning, officers were able to rescue the owl, who was perched on a wire 20 feet high. The rescue took an hour and succeeded with the help of citizens, patrol officers and the fire department; officers threw towels up at the owl, who landed on a parking lot and was netted. 

The owl was very ill and malnourished, with one eye missing and the other covered in cataracts; his ability to hunt has diminished. The “senior” owl was delivered to a raptor rehabilitation center in Falls Church where he is in stable condition. He is expected to survive, however, he may have to live in captivity since his ability to hunt has diminished.

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