Spike, a baby owl found with a brain injury on a train, has become a social media star and a symbol of hope for those who believe in second chances. Despite his injury, which prevented him from returning to the wild, the owl found a new home at the Fontenelle Forest Conservation Foundation in Nebraska, USA. This was reported by MarthaStewart.com, according to UNN.
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Last month, the Nebraska-based foundation shared its touching story on Instagram. The post received 5.6 million views and thousands of comments.
A 3- or 4-year-old Northern Spotted Owl was found locked in a train car, during which he suffered brain damage that left him unable to survive in the wild. But ever since Spike found his new home at Fontenelle Forest, one of Nebraska's oldest conservation organizations, he has been doing better.
Spike made his social media debut in November when the conservation organization posted a video of him and captioned it: "This Northern Spotted Owl is always curious and up for an adventure!" The post explained that this particular species of owl has incredible hearing that allows them to locate prey even in complete darkness, making them excellent hunters at night.
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But the Internet really fell in love with it in January, when Fontenelle Forest shared more information about the adorable owl.
"Meet Spike! Spike has recently risen to fame on Instagram, so we asked his best friend (and bird of prey specialist) Ella to introduce him to his new fans!" - the post reads.
Since then, Spike has found not only a new home, but also a new friend - George, another bird of prey who has been living at the reserve for 12 years. From the very beginning, George, who used to be very selective in choosing roommates, quickly got along with Spike, even starting to groom him, which is typical behavior for birds that care for each other.
"We tried to get George to have a couple of owls, but George wanted nothing to do with them. The real problem was that he would go on a hunger strike and refuse to eat while another owl was in his enclosure," a bird of prey care specialist at Fontenelle Forest told MarthaStewart.com.
"We assume that George felt that Spike was not a threat due to his brain injury and that he might need help," the expert says.
George and Spike travel to elementary schools and nursing homes together, acting as educational ambassadors for raptors. Spike was recently the guest of honor at a local brewery in Omaha for a charity event. He also charmed visitors at Fontenelle Forest's annual Valentine's Day celebration dedicated to raptors, called "Talontin's Party.