What it looks like when a live great horned owl gets stuck in car grille

A Southern California driver made a startling discovery Sunday morning when they found a live bird of prey stuck in the grille of their car.

The bird, whose head was peeping out, was a great horned owl, authorities said. An officer with Santa Barbara County Animal Services was called to a residence in the 1000 block of Amethyst Drive in the town of Orcutt around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. At least four firefighters from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department helped with the bird’s rescue, the department told The Times.

“This is the first time we had an owl, that I’m aware of, entangled in a vehicle,” said Scott Safechuck, a public information officer for the county Fire Department. “Usually it’s a cat, or sometimes we have cattle that get onto the highway.”

Firefighters carefully cut away portions of the grille as they tried to extract the owl on Sunday.

(Santa Barbara County Fire Department )

Authorities do not know how long the owl was stuck but say it may have happened Saturday. The removal operation took about 30 minutes, after which the owl, which had sustained injuries, was taken to the Wildlife Care Network, a wildlife rescue center in Goleta.

An employee at the wildlife network said that each animal the center helps receives a series of tests, such as CT scans and X-rays, upon arrival. The organization did not immediately provide an update on the owl’s status.

“It’s infrequent that things like this happen,” Safechuck said. “It’s remarkable the owl was still alive.”

The great horned owl is considered the largest owl in North America, according to the Santa Barbara Audubon Society. It can weigh as much as 5½ pounds with a wingspan of nearly 5 feet and have large, powerful talons. According to the National Audubon Society, this owl species is not endangered.

It took about 30 minutes to free the injured owl, which was taken to a Goleta wildlife rescue, authorities said.

(Santa Barbara County Fire Department )