A snowy owl that was found injured late last year has made its return into Manitoba's wild.
The owl, which has no name, was let out by the Red River Floodway off Highway 59 Sunday morning while a small crowd braved the bone-chilling cold to watch.
"She's feisty and definitely wants to be out in the wild," said Lisa Tretiak, president of the Prairie Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, which has been taking care of the owl since November.
People braved the cold Sunday morning to see the owl go back into the wild. (Austin Grabish/CBC)
Tretiak said a man found the owl injured with a broken wing on a road near highways 1 and 12.
The injuries are likely from being hit by a car but staff can't be sure, said Tretiak, who added although unlikely, it may have flown into a power line.
The owl's road to recovery included time in a small enclosure where a special wrap had to be placed on the animal. "She was a bit of a biter so we had to reapply the wrap a few times," Tretiak said.
Chace Short, 7, stood in awe as the owl flew over the floodway — after it decided to leave its cage. (Rosalie Loiselle/CBC)
Chace Short, 7, stood in awe as the owl flew over the floodway — after it finally decided to leave its cage with the help of a little push from Tretiak.
"It was so cool and I like its eyes," said Short while holding his own stuffed owl.
