When you bring a real tree into your house and decorate it for Christmas, you probably already know that bugs are hiding in it. But did you know that there might also be some animals that are still alive?
Even though that doesn’t happen very often, it did happen to the Newman family just a few days before the holidays.
Recently, on one night in Georgia, Katie McBride Newman was cleaning up after dinner when her daughter, India, ran over with a bold statement for her mom.
She comes very dramatically into the dining room and goes, ‘Mama, that ornament scared me,
Katie explained.
Then she bursts into tears.
Katie thought she was talking about an owl decoration she had. Since the mom loved owls so much, there were a lot of owl-shaped ornaments all over the Christmas tree.
When she went to check it out, though, she was just as surprised as her daughter. Inside, a real, live owl was sitting on one of her many fake owl decorations.
It’s not clear how long the owl had been in the tree, but experts say it could have been over a week based on its size and when the tree was bought. Even though the owl was a little bit skinny, it was mostly healthy and did not hurt.
At first, the family tried to get the owl to fly outside by leaving the windows and doors open. However, it was probably too comfortable with its other owl friends in the tree, so it never left. They finally got help by calling the Chattahoochee Nature Center. The owl was fed raw chicken and water in the meantime.
When the experts from Chattahoochee got there, they were able to catch the owl, put it in a box, and set it free in its natural environment.
What an amazing Christmas this family had! What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever discovered in a Christmas tree?
