A call to the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan regarding a dead Great Horned Owl turned into a triple-owlet rescue mission on Saturday.

Executive Director Bonnie Dell says the call came from a woman named Crystal from the Kindersley area. Crystal relayed that they had found a dead owl on Tuesday, and its mate had just been found, also dead, in her yard. Dell says the pair were most likely electrocuted by a nearby transformer.

She says the nearby nest containing their abandoned babies was about 40 feet high, and it wouldn’t have been safe for the wildlife crew to attempt the rescue. After calling around for a while, a former volunteer with the Wildlife Rescue Society, Greg, offered to spend his Saturday shimmying up a tree.

“Greg also touched base with SaskPower to make sure that them going out was a safe thing to do, and it was far enough away from anything electrical.”

After getting the all-clear, Greg and Trevis were able to collect the babies from the nest and bring them to the ground. Crystal’s teenage son gave the babies a dead mouse, and they were on their way to Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation in Saskatoon.

“We have to, because of our permits, release them back in the same area. So, we will talk to SaskPower and see that there have been some mitigations done to prevent this happening again before they are released.” Dell assures that SaskPower is “always great to deal with, and they want to get out as soon as possible to help and to mitigate the situation.”

She also advises the public not to touch wildlife without giving the rescue society a call first. She explains that many animals can carry disease. For example, birds can carry avian flu.

“Especially waterfowl, and we are seeing it in crows, owls, and some raptors this year. If you see a bird acting a little bit strangely, if it’s stumbling around, not walking properly, unable to fly, phone us.”

The number to call is 306-242-7177.