A Barred Owl hunting for food in Lamar County was gravely injured when its wing became snared by a barbed wire fence. The bird struggled throughout the hours of darkness to free its wing, but its struggles only served to twist the barbed wire more deeply into the wing.

A Conservation Officer cut the barbed wire to free the bird, but it was too late in the day to get the bird to the Alabama Wildlife Center for treatment. Instead, AWC staff member Lee McDonald cared for the bird at home overnight. Lee worked for over an hour to remove the three-inch piece of barbed wire that was still tangled in the wing. The next day, volunteer veterinarian Dr. Carl Grimmet at Grayson Valley Pet Clinic cleaned and sutured the wounds. The damaged wing required a month of painstaking daily treatments by AWC.

In time and with daily care by AWC staff, the wound healed, and the owl was finally moved from the convalescent ward to a flight cage to regain strength and mobility. In the spacious and comfortable flight cage--and with continued care and feeding by AWC staff and volunteers--the owl regained its health. It took two months of exercise for the bird's flight to become completely normal.

On Friday, December 15, Lee McDonald transported the owl back to Lamar County, and released it in its home territory, not far from the location where it was originally found.