Owls are awesome, and a vital part of the ecosystem. They tend to avoid humans as best as they can, but occasionally, an owl is orphaned, sick, or injured, and there are dedicated rehabilitators who rise to occasion and take care of them. Still, owls are wild animals, and not easy to deal with without someone getting hurt. So wildlife rehabbers wrap them in towels in order to weigh them, treat their injuries, and sometimes even to feed them. This not only protects both the bird and the handler, but also helps to calm down an agitated bird. When an owl is kept still in this way, it's a good time to take its picture. The gallery Owls in Towels brings us wrapped owls from all over the world. Shannon, pictured above, is a ruru morepork owl who slammed into a glass window and was treated at Wildbase Recovery in New Zealand. Grace, below, is showing some attitude as she is examined by a veterinarian at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital.
Rarely does an owl look happy to be wrapped in a towel by a strange human, but this Eurasian scops owl was rescued from an attack by a pack of crows in Skopje, North Macedonia, and looks quite pleased about it.
You can click on any of the images in the gallery and read the story of that particular owl. And if you have a box of towels you no longer use, your local wildlife rehab center or any animal shelter will be glad to put them to use. -via Metafilter