Salem man attacked by owl in Bush's Pasture Park

Ron Jaecks of Salem was on his usual morning run in Bush's Pasture Park on Tuesday when he was attacked, or so he thought.

Jaecks was jogging near the baseball field about 5:15 a.m. Suddenly in the morning darkness his stocking cap was pulled from his head, and almost simultaneously he felt something puncture his scalp.

Jaecks thought he was dying.

"It was like a huge electric shock ran through my body, but also like I got hit in the head with a two-by-four all at the same time," Jaecks said. "Or maybe a strike of lightning."

Jaecks, 58, immediately began to run faster, trying to escape his assailant.

Running in circles and screaming, the general surgeon for Kaiser Permanente began to think that he was having a stroke or an aneurysm.

Jaecks took off in the direction of Mission Street in hopes of being seen by someone at Salem Hospital, not knowing exactly what had happened in the park.

But on his sprint toward safety, the attacker struck again, and this time Jaecks didn't have a hat on.

Jaecks felt the blunt force. He thought to look up and saw a large winged animal. He thought it was a massive bat.

Now realizing that an animal was responsible for the attacks, Jaecks went home and washed his scalp instead of heading into the hospital. He then made a phone call to his friend David Craig, a biology professor and animal behavior specialist at Willamette University.

"I called David and described what had happened," Jaecks said. "He immediately said it was either a barred owl or a great horned owl."

According to the Nature Conservancy, great horned owls are the most powerful of the common owls.

Fierce hunters with a wingspan of nearly 5 feet, they prefer to wait quietly before swooping down on their prey with the force of nearly 30 pounds. Their talons can grow anywhere from 4 to 8 inches long.

Great horned owls start nesting in January and raise their owlets during the winter. The owls are also known to attack anything they think could threaten their family.

According to Seattle radio station KPLU, parts of a Seattle park were closed following several reported attacks on people in 2012.

Every morning for about an hour, Jaecks runs laps around the perimeter of the park just across the street from Salem Hospital, where he works. He's intensified his workout for the past three months so he can fit into a green and gold Green Bay Packers jumpsuit each Sunday.

Jaecks grew up in Wisconsin and is a lifelong Packers fan. He tries to attend every Super Bowl that the Packers play in and plans to attend the game this year if the Packers advance.

He was not wearing the suit Tuesday morning.

"I run in that particular park every morning because the trail is soft," said Jaecks. " I don't want to stop running there, but I have never been so frightened in my life."

According to Craig, great horned owl attacks that produce injuries are not common, but they're not unheard of either.

"When owls are nesting, they're really territorial, Craig said. "Great horned owls as well as barred owls often swoop down on people, but a very small percentage get clawed and attacked like that."

If more people report attacks, Craig suggested city parks officials could put up warning signs, but closing the park should be a last resort.

Phenomena like the owl attack are what make the Salem area so special, Craig said.

"As scary as it was for Ron, it's a wonderful thing Salem can offer such a great habitat, Craig said.

"I wish it would have happened to me," Craig said. "I would have loved that."

Email aroemeling@statesmanjournal.com, call (503) 399 6884, or follow on Twitter @alisharoemeling