‘Something big’ tangled in soccer net was an owl in need of help, Kansas woman says

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When a young woman spotted “something big” in the barrier netting of a Kansas soccer field, she took a closer look.

There, she found an owl all tangled up at the soccer field of Western Hills Church in east Topeka, as seen in photos posted to Facebook by her aunt. Warning: Photos in the hyperlink are graphic.

“Poor thing was so entangled,” Terri Geiken said in her public Facebook post on Wednesday.

Concerned citizens called for help, the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office said, and its animal control unit worked to rescue the bird from the net.

It was a great horned owl, according to WIBW, and it was stuck in the “barrier netting” between the field and the parking lot.

“The owl was taken by a rehabilitator to get vet care and is expected to make a full recovery,” the sheriff’s office said in a Friday morning Facebook post.

Shortly after, the sheriff’s office said it learned the owl had since been named “Darius Rucker - you know, from ‘Hoot’ie & the Blowfish.” Darius Rucker — the singer-songwriter, not the owl — leads the band, Hootie & The Blowfish.

Geiken said she and her niece, Joelle, visited Darius Rucker — the owl — on Thursday afternoon.

“He is looking much better than he did about 24 hours ago,” she said.

And on Friday morning, she shared that the owl should soon be freed, following his “full recovery.”

“We love a story with a happy ending!!!” she said.

Great horned owls, at about 3 to 3.5 pounds, are the largest owls to live in Kansas, according to the Great Plains Nature Center. They eat large rodents, rabbits and even skunks.

“Like all birds of prey, they use their powerful feet and sharp talons to subdue and kill their prey,” the center says. “The grip of the Great Horned Owl is believed to be more powerful than any other North American bird of prey.”

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