We don’t name all of our patients but this one involved a wonderful story.

Hannah, an adult Great Horned Owl, was spotted on the lawn at the Palos Verdes interpretive Center on May 10, 2021 by Sue, of their volunteers, who thought she was dead. She looked like a bloody pile of leaves! Hannah had severe head trauma, perhaps from being hit by a car. She was then attacked by the local Ravens and afterwards was attacked by a local Peregrine Falcon. Both species nest there, and owls often roost on the Point Vicente Lighthouse property next doors. Both hunt there and up the hill to RPV City Hall. Owls are considered a threat by both Ravens and Peregrines.

Hannah was put in a box and Emily brought her to us at South Bay Wildlife Rehab.

There was blood in Hannah’s eye and in her mouth and she was very weak, with no apparent vision. Fortunately her weight was good. Unfortunately she could not see her food and had to be assist-fed for a very long time. Just at the point where we thought she was not improving and needed to be euthanized, she shifted her head and reacted to our movements!!! Little by little she began to improve and, on June 2, was able to go to a mew (house for a raptor) at the Ranch, where our big enclosures are located. By then she was eating one rat each day, at a cost of about $3.00 a rat. This is very costly when we have 15 to 20 Great Horned Owls in care right now, plus many other species!

In July Hannah was transferred to one of our big flights and ultimately started on live feeding, to be sure she could see her prey.

Here’s the best part of the story! On September 18, 2021, Wendy and Kathy (two of our terrific volunteers) released Hannah at PVIC about 4 minutes after sunset, to the delight of all who watched.

Upon her release Hannah was immediately attacked by some Ravens but she held her own!

Hannah then flew directly across PV Drive, up the hill toward City Hall, and landed on a telephone wire. She flew around a bit, then down to the ground, where she may have caught her first dinner back in the wild.

But wait - it gets better!!!! Sheila, who had been observing and photographing owls, jumped in her car and raced up to City Hall. She said another Great Horned Owl appeared and was not aggressive. Together they made some quiet hooting noises in close proximity to each other.

Then the other owl flew oﬀ and Hannah followed. We believe this was her mate.

We are always grateful for such a happy ending and this was no exception. If you would like to donate to the next happy endings, please visit out website, www.SBWR.org.

South Bay Wildlife Rehab is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), dedicated to the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife and to wildlife and environmental Education. We take in over 1000 native birds and bats each year. We have extensive experience with all native wildlife and refer to other organizations for species we don’t treat.

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