Owl survives again after being hit hard by SUV

[June 16, 2009]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- This great horned owl is one lucky, or unlucky, bird -- depending how you look at it.

A fish hook got stuck on her wing in a Burnsville lake in 2007, but she was rescued, treated and released. Then on Thursday, a sports utility vehicle hit her on Highway 169 and she got stuck in its grill.

Dr. Julia Ponder works at the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota, where the bird has been treated both times. She said the owl hit hard enough that she cracked the plastic bumper and got trapped in the grill.

The bird, which apparently recently laid eggs, has broken her radius bone, but she's expected to be released in the next month or so.

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Information from: KARE-TV, http://www.kare11.com/

[Associated Press]

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