It’s not often that one hears about a bird attacking people, but this seems to be the case for one neighborhood in Paducah, Kentucky, according to a report by local TV station WPSD.
There have been several reports by residents claiming they are being terrorized by a local owl that may be trying to defend its territory from outsiders, even if they are human. After being attacked three times before, local doctor Mark Vance set out on his normal morning bike ride armed with a makeshift surveillance camera in the form of his cell phone and caught the owl on film attacking him mid-ride, the news source reported.
“It means to attack, it doesn’t think I’m prey, it thinks I’m in it’s territory,” Vance told WPSD. “I saw it hopping on the side of the road and I thought it may be warning me at that time so I was kind of expecting today but it’s still a shock.”
Other residents have contacted the police department claiming to be scratched by the bird’s talons, however, local law enforcement can’t touch the animal. A federal law called the “Migratory Bird Treaty Act” states that only federal agents with special permits can handle unique birds, WSPD reported.
Nonetheless, local experts from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Game believe the situation is bizarre, the news provider said.
“Owls are usually very private animals, they are nocturnal, they’re out at night when people aren’t around so it’s very unusual,” biologist Karen Hlinka said, according to WPSD.
Since relocating the bird is a delicate situation, local agents may consider implementing more advanced surveillance cameras around the area to study the animal’s behavior, allowing experts to learn where it lives and if it is protecting its young.
