Good samaritans stop to help stunned owl in the middle of Highway 160
Lacy Green helped rescue a great horned owl that was sitting stunned in the middle of Highway 160 in Gainesville last week.
At first, the owl’s one eye was closed, but after a few minutes, it reopened it and flew off.
Thanks to the help of two local good samaritans, Lacy Green and the Times’ own Regina Mozingo, a great horned owl was carried to safety from the middle of busy Highway 160 in Gainesville last week and is now happily back in the wild.
The incident occurred Wednesday, Aug. 27, when Mozingo was leaving work at the Times office around 4:30 p.m. headed eastbound on Highway 160 toward her home when she noticed something in the highway, just east of town near AmSan Drive.
“At first, I thought something had been hit - but then as I passed, I realized it was an owl,” she said. “It was about that same time that Lacy also saw it, and we both pulled over.”
The women spotted the creature, which was sitting stunned on the center yellow line of the very busy Highway 160, and dozens of vehicles were backed up in both directions, trying to slowly pass the owl without injuring it further.
Regina said she remembered she had a towel in her car, so she got it out, and Lacy ran into the roadway and tossed it over the animal. It didn’t put up a fight, and she was easily able to carry it back to AmSan Drive, where Regina had her car parked.
The women called Missouri Conservation Agent Tom Leeker, who said that he was on his way back from Jefferson City and wouldn’t be home for a few hours. Regina told Leeker that one of the owl’s eyes was closed. He told them that it likely was hit in the head and may just be stunned. He told them to place the owl into the grass, some distance away from the roadway, and leave it alone.
“I was so worried about it... I asked him if he could check on it when he got back to town,” Regina said.
As Regina was wrapping up the conversation, the owl opened its eye and turned its head to follow Regina’s movement. The women placed the owl in the grass where it promptly flew away, landing in a tree a small distance away. Both Lacy and Regina were thankful for the happy ending. The incident was just one of many that goes to show the character of small town Ozark County – where locals go out of their way to help their neighbors, even the feathered kind.