Local Owl Really Beating Self Up for Thinking Ponytail Was Some Sort of Prey
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Runner: deposiphotos.com; owl: wikimedia/creative commons
A local barred owl can’t believe it mistook a runner’s bouncing ponytail for prey, Dumb Runner has learned, and is really beating itself up over it.
The mix-up occurred early Sunday morning, sources said, as an unidentified woman ran through Arnold Lobel Park, a densely wooded area popular with hikers and runners. The owl swooped down at the woman as she rounded a corner, they said, talons extended, and “completely freaked her out” as he scrabbled at her bouncing ponytail.
“It was pandemonium,” said one witness, who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation from the owl. “This poor woman was just minding her business, having a nice trail run, when suddenly she’s got an owl in her hair.”
The encounter lasted just a few moments, the witness said, before the owl returned to its tree and the woman sprinted away.
For its part, the owl immediately began to second-guess its attack.
“What was I thinking?” the owl told itself, according to another source with intimate knowledge of the nocturnal bird of prey’s thoughts. “I’ve hunted literally hundreds of rodents and stuff, I should know by now what they look like.”
“That was obviously a ponytail,” it continued. “Like, why would a mouse or chipmunk or whatever be clinging to a runner’s head? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“God, I’m such an idiot.”
Reached for comment, the runner told Dumb Runner that the encounter was jarring but that she was sorry the owl was beating itself up.
“He shouldn’t be so hard on himself,” she said. “We all make mistakes.”
The owl, brooding on a high branch in Arnold Lobel Park, didn’t return several bird calls for comment.
