DULUTH, Minn. — A snowy owl rescued from the grill of a car Monday at Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth has been euthanized. But a great gray owl rescued by the same woman earlier in the day is still alive and being treated by veterinarians in the Twin Cities.

The pair of rescues, both carried out by Annabell Whelan, went viral this week.

Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Duluth, which transported both birds to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center in Falcon Heights, said in a Facebook post Thursday that the snowy owl “sustained severe traumatic injuries, including trauma to the internal organs, and a broken wing and broken leg that could not be repaired.”

“Because the injuries could not be fixed and the bird would be unable to fly again, the kindest option available for this majestic wild bird was a peaceful passing via euthanasia,” Wildwoods wrote.

Wildwoods reported “better news” on the great gray owl. While it suffered a broken bone in the wing and soft tissue damage on that wing, it remains hospitalized at the Raptor Center.

“These injuries are severe, and the veterinarians at (the Raptor Center) are doing everything they can to give this bird a chance at recovery,” Wildwoods wrote.

Two rescues in one day

On Monday, Whelan was with her boyfriend and his family taking in the Bentleyville holiday light show. They were trying to figure out the quickest way out of the Bayfront parking lot when something caught her eye. She thought she saw an injured owl stuck in the grill of another car.

“I immediately beelined it towards the car,” Whelan said.

Upon reaching the vehicle, it was exactly what she thought it was. The owners of the car had already called police to help with the injured snowy owl, but Whelan had some firsthand experience.

Earlier in the day, she had found and rescued a great gray owl on U.S. 61 north of Two Harbors. She called Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Duluth and they helped coach her to safely corral the bird and transport it.

Whelan “scooped” the bird up in a blanket and into a waiting dog kennel in a car.

“He got situated and hung out for the car ride,” she said.

Upon arrival at Wildwoods, the great gray owl was transported to the Raptor Center.

While the great gray owl had some sort of “run-in” with a vehicle, Whelan said, the snowy owl was clearly far more injured and, worse, Wildwoods was now closed. Still, she tried to gently remove the animal from the car.

“I had to move some of the broken pieces of the grill out of the way,” she said. “I just scooped her up and slowly started to shimmy her out.”

With Wildwoods closed, Whelan decided to take the bird home and contact the center again the next morning. The owl was “obviously in shock,” according to Whelan, and had a severely injured wing.

“Not the outcome I was hoping for but still glad she was given a chance — great gray is still pushing through though,” Whelan wrote on Facebook.

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