Distressed Owl Found In New York Backyard, Is He Injured, Dead or Playing Dead?

This owl pictures below was found on the brink of death or was it pretending to be dead? Both actually.

A family from Lake Grove, New York in Suffolk County contacted New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officers to report an owl acting strangely in their backyard. Was the owl injured, dying or pretending to be dead?

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On Monday September 22nd, DEC Officer Day responded to a report of a small owl behaving strangely in the backyard of a residence in Lake Grove, NY. Officer Day arrived at the location and discovered the Eastern screech owl on the ground.

DEC Officer Day safely captured the owl, which then began exhibiting a behavior called thanatosis. Merriam-Webster defines thanatosis as "a state that in some respects resembles shock, is characterized by cessation of all voluntary activity and usually by assumption of a posture suggestive of death". In other words "playing dead".

Screech owls, such as this one, use this behavior as a last resort defense mechanism when they are unable to flee, and their camouflage isn’t enough to conceal them. The owl appeared to have a bad cut on one of its legs and was transported to the Save the Animals Rescue (STAR) Foundation in Middle Island for rehabilitation.

DEC checked in with the foundation to get an update on the owl and learned that the bird made a full recovery at the facility and was released back into the wild on Wednesday October 15th.