A Dutch town has advised residents to arm themselves with an umbrella when going out at night after a mysterious spate of bloody rogue owl attacks.

Owl attacks joggers and steals their hats

Over the last three weeks, the European eagle owl has silently swooped on dozens of people in Purmerend, in the north of the Netherlands, with many victims requiring hospital treatment.

The latest aerial assault on Tuesday evening saw two members of a local athletics club attacked, with one runner requiring stitches for six head wounds caused by the nocturnal bird of prey’s talons.

The club has cancelled all training until further notice.

---

A rogue owl that has terrorised a northern Dutch city for the past year, forcing citizens to arm themselves with umbrellas at night, has been caught, officials have announced.

Dubbed the “terror owl” by residents of Purmerend, north of Amsterdam, the aggressive European eagle owl is suspected of more than 50 attacks on humans, swooping silently from above and leaving many of its victims bloody and bruised.

“The animal was trapped by a falconer today,” the Purmerend city council said on Friday evening.

“It’s in good health and is currently being kept in a temporary facility awaiting a transfer once a proper permanent home has been found,” it added.

The large owl is suspected of a spate of mysterious attacks on citizens over the last year, prompting the city to advise evening strollers to arm themselves with umbrellas for protection against aerial assaults.

“The attacks were getting heavier,” the city said, adding: “Many people were afraid to go out of their homes.”

---

More:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/25/european-eagle-owl-attacks-dutch-town-purmerend

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/14/eagle-owl-caught-dutch-town-attacks-purmerend-netherlands

i read about this guy. i love that the citizens were advised to carry umbrellas. here in the states, they'd likely have shot the owl by now

XxAxX said:

i read about this guy. i love that the citizens were advised to carry umbrellas. here in the states, they'd likely have shot the owl by now

what floors me is that they needed like 1 year to caught it...

owls are smart and can become 'problem birds' if they're habituated to human contact. wonder if someone fed this one ?

XxAxX said:

owls are smart and can become 'problem birds' if they're habituated to human contact. wonder if someone fed this one ?

hmm, probably, the obsession of this fella with humans was weird, tbh...

and ye, people forget that owls are basically CARNIVOROUS HUNTERS, its not that they're lovebirds or budgies

right. lovebirds and budgies like a nice diet of toast, millet, seeds, pellets and other non-bloody bits. owls, on the other hand.. :poorlittlemouse:

JoeTyler said:

XxAxX said:

i read about this guy. i love that the citizens were advised to carry umbrellas. here in the states, they'd likely have shot the owl by now

The political party for animals is pretty influential.

Killing that owl would have kept the media and politics busy for weeks

Can't do that over here.

Update; the owl attacked a runner this weekend.

Owl, still is free as a bird

dJJ said:

Update; the owl attacked a runner this weekend.

Owl, still is free as a bird

sorry to hear about the attack. i hope the runner is okay, and i'm still cheering for the owl

The villagers and the owl became friends.

The owl just has a fetish for landing on people's heads.

^ awwwww. that bird has some major 'tude!!!!

morningsong said:

Here somebody would have long caught that bird and got it in a wildlife preserve or some wide open space area so it can roam free especially those concerned about its endangered status. All it takes is one feed up human and it's bye bye birdie. Seems unfair to demand people to live with a nuisance while other people sit around debating a course of action. Then again it could be helping with the rodent population therefore earning its keep.

That's The Netherlands for je.

morningsong said:

Here somebody would have long caught that bird and got it in a wildlife preserve or some wide open space area so it can roam free especially those concerned about its endangered status. All it takes is one feed up human and it's bye bye birdie. Seems unfair to demand people to live with a nuisance while other people sit around debating a course of action. Then again it could be helping with the rodent population therefore earning its keep.

imo the best course of action would be to require every villager to wear a thick hat with a built in perch for owl landings.

The owl sounds like a bit of an jerk. If they need Cow to go over and kick some ass, I'm a little bored right now. Not a whole lot going on in the pasture these days.

Cow said:

The owl sounds like a bit of an jerk. If they need Cow to go over and kick some ass, I'm a little bored right now. Not a whole lot going on in the pasture these days.

^^ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's on! I'm getting the popcorn.

When people want to look tough, they put on a leather jacket. Cows wear leather jackets all the time. That Owl is toast.

^ good idea. don't let Owl corner the people-sitting market

stand back or owl get you!