[AT] Varmints and farming

[Bob McNitt]

Charlie - 

There was a verified report many years ago, I recall it was in Michigan or maybe Wisconsin, about a forester who was killed by a great horned owl.

The guy was out cruising timber and when he didn't show up that night, they went searching for him. They found his body in a big section of tall evergreens. By examining the wounds at the base of his skull, they finally pieced together what had happened.

He was wearing a muskrat fur hat and apparently, in the dim light, the owl thought it was a critter, swooped down and drove its razor-sharp  "thumb" talons into the base of his skull, severing his spinal cord.

So your experience doesn't surprise me. I've had a couple great horns swoop over my head at dusk when I was predator calling, checking me out to see if I was a rabbit in distress. Sure startles you tho.

Bob