From the Ojai Raptor Center
Meet adult Great Horned Owl (GHOW) Patient 24-502, affectionately nicknamed "Skunk-boy" by our hospital staff. Owls, like most other birds of prey, do not have a strongly developed sense of smell. It's not uncommon for us to receive Red-tailed Hawk or Great Horned Owl patients reeking of skunk. At least we can assume they are less bothered by it than we are!
Aside from his skunky scent, 24-502 was admitted with eye trauma and a wing droop. Both are healing, and he has already graduated to an outdoor enclosure where his flight continues to improve daily. As you can see when GHOW 24-502 is not being physically restrained by one of our hospital technicians for an exam as he is in the first photo, he immediately takes a defensive posture of fanning out his wings and looking fierce! As apex predators, these owls need to be in order to secure their place in the ecosystem. 24-502 is obviously pretty good at striking this pose and we can't wait to return him to the wild asap.
Confirmed, he IS good at this. He looks like he's promising violence in each pic. But especially the top one. Can't decide if he took pointers from sumo or football.
In most of the pics it looks like he has crazy eyes as well, that I feel make him look even more like he shouldn't be messed with.
Must be the camera angle, since they can't move their eyeballs, but it adds a fun little element to the scene.
Ha! That's a Kubrick Stare, alright!