Angry Owl From Oregon Terrorizes Locals By Stealing Their Headgear

Early morning joggers and park visitors have become victims of a vengeful owl that has taken up roost in Bush’s Pasture Park. The owl has been terrorizing locals and even stealing their headgear in some instances. The incident has escalated to the point that special signs were created and posted within the park, warning of the owl’s nefarious antics. Unlike the giant jackrabbits that invaded North Dakota, the owl has taken to swooping down on its unsuspecting victims, grabbing at their heads with its razor sharp claws. Researchers are scouting the area to see why the owl may be acting so dangerously.

The Huffington Post reported that Keith Keever, the park’s superintendent, has never seen anything like it before. The owl seems to be randomly attacking visitors to the park, specifically joggers, by swooping down and grabbing for their headgear. Brad Hilliard was a victim of one incident, losing his headgear to the feathered foe. He couldn’t believe that the owl stole his hat so quickly, with no time for him to react.

“It was kind of amazing how it just swooped down and grabbed my hat like that. It just pulled it right off my head like it was nothing!”

Reuters reported that the barred owl, the terrorizing species, is most known for pushing the endangered spotted owl out of its natural habitat. The Audubon Society believes that the angry owl has become so aggressive because it is nesting season. Rather than actually terrorizing locals, it is simply defending its space. The hats that it has stolen are most likely being used for nesting materials.

Although the nefarious actions of the owl play out more like a scene in an owl obsessed Max Booth III novel, the owl is not intentionally attempting to mug visitors of their belongings or cause injury to those that aren’t lucky enough to wear headgear. Instead, it is simply looking to build and protect its home. For now, signs in the park recommend that all visitors wear hats of some sort in order to protect their heads from the razor like claws of the angry owl.

Authorities are not looking to upset the owl further by relocating it to another area, instead hope that it will settle down as nesting season winds down and it becomes more comfortable in its surroundings.

Despite being a nuisance to some, the angry owl of Busch’s Pasture has become somewhat of a local celebrity, even causing the first victim to create a t-shirt dedicated to the incident. It has become so well known that when people talk about the owl, no one asks, “who?” — they already know.

[Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia]