Owl In Family's Christmas Tree Freed By GA Nature Center

ROSWELL, GA — A Newnan, Georgia, home received a unique holiday gift when a live owl turned up in the family's Christmas tree. The Chattahoochee Nature Center helped them catch and release it back into the wild.

“No joke, we just found a LIVE owl roosting in our Christmas tree. What?!?!?” Katie Newman said Dec. 12 on Facebook.

Newman said her daughter spotted the Eastern screech owl squatting in the tree among other ornaments. There were many owl-shaped ones, so the real thing fit right in at first. When the “ornament” turned its head to watch Newman’s daughter, they knew something was off.

Newman documented her owl story on Facebook as she and her family tried to get the owl outside by opening windows and shoo-ing it. When that didn’t work, she called the Department of Natural Resources, which put her in touch with Chattahoochee Nature Center.

"She called us, and I just happened to be driving past Newnan the next morning on my way to Auburn," said Dawn Ellerman, a wildlife technician at Chattahoochee Nature Center. "I told her I would try and catch it and do an exam. If it needed immediate care, she would take it to a rehabber." Ellerman caught and examined the creature, and said it looked healthy.

Ellerman was able to tell Newman how to release the tiny owl back into the wild, which eventually happened.

“We owe so much thanks to the Chattahoochee Nature Center Wildlife team,” Newman said. “Truly good Samaritans who saved our Christmas Owl.”

If you find a wild animal in your home, call a licensed animal rehabilitation professional, such as the Chattahoochee Nature Center, or visit Animal Help Now for your local rehabber. They will help identify the animal and help catch it or release it. Wild animals should never be kept as pets. Owls in particular are illegal in the United States as pets except by licensed rehabbers.