Nikki Robinson was packing up after a hike, about to head home, when she spotted a cat crossing the street. The cat wandered towards a residential area, so she followed him, making sure he didn’t get hit by any cars.
Robinson, who is studying to be a wildlife rehabilitator, knows when an animal is in need — and it just so happened she was at the right place at just the right time to save a little life.
While following the cat, another noise caught her attention. “I heard what I thought was an injured squirrel,” Robinson told The Dodo. “[I] followed the sound and found a fluffball in the wildflowers.”
A tiny eastern screech owlet had fallen from his nest, and she knew he was too young to fly. “He was still close to the roadside,” Robinson said. “I looked around for a nest or tree hole, but couldn't see anything. He was quivering a lot, and I was worried about a head injury.”
Robinson called a few wildlife rehabbers she’d worked with, and they all agreed the little guy needed to be checked out. So Robinson found a box with towels in her car and wrapped the owlet up. She turned on the seat warmer and placed the box on top, hoping to stop him from shivering.
But her plan to limit contact with the wild baby during the drive didn’t quite work out. It was clear the owlet wanted attention — and was very insistent about it.
“He kept trying to climb out of the closed box,” Robinson said. “When I checked on him, he would jump onto me and sit happily on the seat belt or my shoulder.”
“I'm sure he was just cold, but he did stop shivering when he snuggled into my cheek,” she added.
Robinson dropped the baby owl off at a rehab facility, and after a night in an incubator, his health improved.
Now, thanks to his rescuer, the owlet is getting the care he needs to one day be released back into the wild.
Original post here.