This perturbed owl was photographed seconds after being rescued from a lacrosse net at Brock.

Campus Security and the local humane society pulled a rescue effort this week when an owl got stuck in a piece of sports equipment.

Two commissionaires were patrolling the Zone 2 parking lot around 1 p.m. Monday afternoon when they found a Great Horned Owl tangled in a lacrosse net, said Donna Moody, director of Campus Security.

The Lincoln County Humane Society was called to help untangle the owl, who Campus Security staff have been referring to as Oliver.

“We get regular calls about the wildlife we share our campus with,” Moody said. “We’ve had calls about coyotes, rats, cats and raccoons, but we’ve never had one about a Great Horned Owl.

“It was nice that we were able to save him and send him home to his family.”

The Great Horned Owl is one of Canada’s largest birds of prey, with female wingspans averaging about 1.2 metres.

The owl is likely a Niagara native. One study showed that more than 90 per cent of nestlings moved less than 80 km from where they were born, says an entry at Hinterland Who’s Who, a site run by Environment Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Federation.