An animal rescuer on New York’s Long Island swooped in to help a drowning owl earlier this week.
“Saved!” wrote Strong Island Animal Rescue League in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
The Suffolk County nonprofit said it had received a call about an “owl that was drowning in a swimming pool” and “immediately set out” to help.
Video shows the rescue group’s president, Frankie Floridia, fishing the flailing bird or prey out of the water with a long-handled net and placing it inside a plastic tub for transportation.
News 12 Long Island reported that the bird was taken from the Commack, New York, backyard to Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown for care.
Several people who commented on the Facebook post wondered why the homeowners hadn’t scooped the struggling owl out themselves. The group responded that it doesn’t “ask questions” when someone calls for help with an animal, adding, “these people were good people who wanted help for the owl.”
Last month, a barred owl was rescued from a similar situation in a Florida swimming pool and was treated for injuries by the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife in Sanibel.
To prevent animals from drowning in swimming pools, the Humane Society of the United States recommends fencing pools and installing “water-exit” devices, like a floating ramp, that can help animals get out.
