A Mid-Missouri resident named Vincent is recovering and expected to soon be released from care after a presumed head-on hit-and-run-in accident with a car in August along U.S. 50 in Jefferson City.
As luck would have it, Vincent van GHOW - a mature great horned owl, hence its last name - found itself in trouble next to a medical clinic and a couple women who were willing to help.
LeeAnn Paterson was coming into work a little before 7 a.m. Aug. 30 at JCMG's Express Care location on Elm Court when she noticed the owl on the ground between the building and the highway.
"I just found it very strange that he was on the ground," she said.
She went inside, called the non-emergency local police number to report the troubled bird and was told it would be a couple of hours before a raptor rescuer could get there.
While a volunteer with the University of Missouri's Raptor Rehabilitation Project was on her way to tend to the bird, Paterson said, she decided "in the meantime, I just wanted to keep an eye on him."
The owl kept inching closer to the highway, and Paterson said another woman parked at the end of the building and offered to help.
Paterson went inside to grab a sheet, but when she came back out, they could not find the owl.
She waited for traffic to clear, crossed the eastbound lanes and found the owl on the ground in the median.
The other woman distracted the raptor. "I just unfolded the sheet, got behind him and threw it over him," Paterson said.
For the sake of avoiding injury to people and the birds, it is not advised to handle wild raptors - which also include hawks, kestrels, kites, vultures and eagles - unless someone feels a bird is in imminent danger, is comfortable moving the animal and takes proper precautions, according to the Raptor Rehabilitation Project.
Paterson said she scooped up and held the owl while the other woman grabbed its talons and bound them together so the bird couldn't hurt anybody.
The woman from MU's Raptor Rehabilitation Project arrived and checked the owl, Paterson said. She did not notice any broken wings or other apparent injuries.
"Because of the behavior of the owl and the location it was found, we suspect he was hit by a car," said Sarah Lacy, of the Raptor Rehabilitation Project, adding the raptor had "symptoms of minor head trauma."
"We continued to monitor him in the hospital until his (mental activity) improved. We then transferred him to our rehab center, fed him daily, and tested his flight ability and hunting ability," Lacy said.
As of Friday, she finalized scheduling for Vincent's release, adding the day before it had been postponed on account of rain.
"We're all so stoked," Paterson said of coworkers and family being excited to see Vincent released.
The Raptor Rehabilitation Project serves all of the state, "but primarily receives birds from the Mid-Missouri area," Lacy said. "Finders generally call either local authorities or the Department of Conservation. Those entities then refer them to us."
The organization has rescued more than 120 raptors this year.
" I don't have an exact number on owls, but owls are the majority of the raptors we receive," she said.
More information about the great horned owl is available at raptorrehab.org/great-horned-owls.html.
More information about MU's Raptor Rehabilitation Project and what to do if an injured raptor is found is available at raptorrehab.cvm.missouri.edu.