Barn owl snagged by barbed wire saved by Oregon passersby, wildlife rescue team

A barn owl whose wings were caught in a barbed wire fence, rendering it immobile, was rescued by two Willamette Valley women in a

now viral TikTok

that has garnered millions of views.

Lexie Echols, the 31-year-old TikTok user, and her sister-in-law are seen in the video carefully freeing the owl from a fence near Echols’ Lebanon home before taking it to an

Oregon wildlife

hospital. Echols said she originally posted the video to share with friends and family, but now she hopes it can help people who may encounter

injured animals

.

“If anything, the video spreads awareness on maybe what you could do in that situation, or what not to do, since we were kind of figuring it out as we went along, but the fact that so many people were ready to just support the organization who was taking the owl in was huge,” Echols said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better to come out of that.”

Chintimini Wildlife Center, the Corvallis-based clinic that took in the owl, treats more than 2,000 animals harmed or orphaned by human activity each year.

While the barn owl is still recovering and receiving extensive veterinary care, its survival remains uncertain as it can take weeks for barbed wire injuries to be apparent, according to Chintimini Development Director Heather Gibons.

“It’s better to keep the stress down as much as we possibly can, while maintaining the care that they need,” Gibons said.

Chintimni accepts about 10 animals per day to rehabilitate and care for. The center’s peak season is April through August when volunteers, staff and veterinary professionals care for up to 100 animals, which is why donations make a significant difference.

Chintimni has received

$40,000 in donations

since the barn owl came in, many of them coming from TikTok users who saw Echol’s video.

“Donations have been low because the economy is rough, and we totally recognize that,” Gibons said. “So it could not have come at a better time to see that support and to know that people really care about animals and the work that we do.”

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