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A snowy owl that captivated Washington, D.C., in January was found dead this week in northern Minnesota. 

perching for a few hours on a ledge outside The Washington Post's

https://twitter.com/DCSnowyOwl/status/472029952997863425

Not long after, the bird was hit by a bus — and transported to the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center for rehabilitation. 

Researchers released it into the wild in April after attaching an identification band.  

https://twitter.com/HealthTalkUMN/status/458335554518544384


Raptor Center director Dr. Julie Ponder says the bird was found along I-35, likely killed by a car.

"It's always hard for us to learn this kind of thing," she said. "Every little bit of information we gather allows us to learn a little bit more about what's happening out in populations of wildlife, which we don't know about. But this isn't how we want to learn."

Ponder says the snowy owl was far from its arctic habitat, and was not accustomed to being around vehicles or populated areas. 

https://twitter.com/DCSnowyOwl/status/457265606799413248


"Even though we released the bird up north, it's still far more inhabited than the arctic area that they usually come from," she said. "Many of these birds just have no concept of vehicles, windows. Those are dangers and risks that they just haven't been adapted for."

https://twitter.com/DCSnowyOwl/status/502918418417590272

Environmental News

Matt Sepic

Author

The bird was rehabilitated at the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center after it was hit by a bus in the nation's capital.

D.C.'s famous snowy owl dies in Minnesota

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