LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - A barn owl from the nature center in Pine Bluff has been returned by the mother of one of the alleged suspects.
ORIGINAL-- In the middle of the night, someone broke into the Huckabee Delta River Nature Center in Pine Bluff and stole their only barn owl.
Spokesperson for Arkansas Game and Fish, Trey Reid, said the owl definitely didn't escape on its own.
“...There were no signs of holes in its enclosure or anything like that and no signs of any kind of cutting so it couldn't have escaped on its own,” he said.
Reid said whoever took the owl had to jump a seven foot fence to get to the barn where the owl was kept.
“It's not only theft but it's a violation of state law to possess a raptor if you don't have a specific license for that,” he said.
Conservation educator at the Little Rock Zoo, Lara Fawks Lapole, said barn owls don't hoot, they screech and scream. She said if the owl isn't taken care of properly or released into the wild, it will die.
“Males and females are the same color, they all have a heart shaped face and they have beautiful black eyes because they truly are a nocturnal bird so you shouldn't see them out in the day at all. These owls only come out in the middle of the night,” she said.
The 10-year-old owl is 14 inches tall, weighs 1.2 pounds and has a deformed right wing and foot. The AGFC said the owl may have been stolen.
Whoever is responsible for taking the owl could face a $250-$2,500 fine.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the owl should contact Jason Hook with AGFC at 870-534-0011 or by email.
