The stereotype is to have firefighters rescue cats from trees, but this time, it was a Great Horned Owl.
The bird got entangled in fishing line and stuck in a tree around Batterson Park Pond in Farmington. It was hanging from tree limbs about 15 feet off the ground, so firefighters had to use a ladder truck to get it down.
"They were able to cut the owl down, and what happened was the bird was then transferred to my clinic," said Teresa Kramer, who runs Canton Raptor Care.
Kramer took the owl under her wing and says more testing will determine how injured the bird is. Kramer can already see wing droop.
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The problem is when people fish or fly a kite, they end up leaving pieces of line behind. The birds get caught in the lines and get hurt.
"The harder they try to extricate themselves, the tighter the string becomes, and they usually suffer tissue loss, restriction of the blood flow and that can result in amputation or sometimes the bird can't be released," said Kramer.
Kramer says she's seen it happen more than once, especially in the Farmington River Valley. However, people can make sure it doesn't happen again.
"People can make sure that they cut their fishing line and that they remove it; they take it out of the environment," said Kramer.
The owl was taken to Tufts Veterinary Hospital in Massachusetts for care.
