Bad news for owl freed from netting at golf driving range

An owl freed by Fresno firefighters after being stuck by a talon in netting at a golf driving range for more than 24 hours died Wednesday.

The owl was first reported in the netting in the late-morning hours Tuesday, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that firefighters were able to coordinate with wildlife officials to get a ladder truck to River Park Golf Center on Avenue 9, south of Valley Children’s Hospital.

“It flew into the ball-catching net,” said Dan Fidler, a wildlife biologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The bird was about 35 feet above the ground, he said.

Getting to the owl was made more difficult by the need for a ladder truck with a cherry picker that could reach the tangled bird, Fidler said.

“We had to work out a joint effort,” he said. “The response for something like an owl takes a while to get together.”

The owl was still alive when it was untangled Wednesday afternoon but badly dehydrated, Fidler said.

“We were able to get the animal out of its situation and get it fluids to give it a chance,” he said.

It died at the veterinarian’s office.

“It was just too much in the end,” he said. “We tried our best.”

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Bad news for owl freed from netting at golf driving range."