Man treated in hospital after owl attack in Scotland

Updated
Man treated in hospital after owl attack in Scotland
Man treated in hospital after owl attack in Scotland


A man was left needing hospital treatment after an owl attacked him in Scotland.

John Mackay, 58, from Inverness-shire, was heading towards a masonic club with his friends on Saturday, when the two-foot-high eagle owl attacked, and he woke up on the floor with blood pouring from his head.

According to stv.tv, Mr MacKay explained: "I was just crossing the car park to the clubhouse with some pals and we noticed this eagle owl because it was making rather a lot of noise.

"We never really gave it a thought and so I stopped to make a phone call, while the others went into the club. The next thing I knew, I was on the deck.

"It was as if I had been hit by a brick or something as it had ripped my head open and the blood was everywhere - it had erupted like a fountain.

"When I went to look up, I saw that this owl had gone from my right hand side to my left hand side and was sitting on a roof of a van looking at me.

"It was so silent, it had just swooped down in a fraction of a second and attacked me with its talons, slicing my head like a stanley knife would."

Mr Mackay managed to make it into the club, and his friends called an ambulance, which took him to the hospital where his wound was glued together.

Tommy Horne, of Croy, Inverness-shire, rescues birds of prey in the area and has been trying to track down the animal since the attack at the Inverness Masonic Club.

According to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "It's very strange for any bird of prey to attack a human, I've never heard of it. Perhaps it's injured or something like that, but I really don't know. I was out looking for it on Saturday night, but so far there's been no further sightings of the owl.

"Eagle owls are very large birds, and for me the welfare of the bird is important now, so I'm keen to find it."

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