Jogger attacked by owl

Alisha Roemeling | Statesman Journal

SALEM, Ore. — Ron Jaecks was jogging in an Oregon park when his stocking cap was pulled from his head and something punctured 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.

As he ran, the attacker struck again and Jaecks noticed a large winged animal above his head.

Jaecks believed the animal was a bat, but a biology professor friend told him 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.

Jaecks says he was running in the Bush's Pasture Park, in Salem, Ore. on Jan.12, when the attack happened.

"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 David Craig, a biology professor and animal behavior specialist at Willamette University, 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."

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