Remember
the 1963 suspense/horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock “The
Birds.”? I have always thought it to be one of Hitchcock's best
films. This film was actually based on a story by master storyteller
Daphne du Maurier in 1952 with the same name. The plot of the film
takes place in an hypothetical town; Bodega bay in California, which
is, suddenly and for unexplained reasons, the subject of a series of
widespread and violent bird attacks over the course of a few days. I
can still remember the last scene from the film in which the main
characters try to take a little girl to hospital; injured in a bird
attack as a sea of birds ripple menacingly fly around their house.
The radio reports the spread of bird attacks to nearby communities,
and suggests that the National Guard may be required to intervene
because civil authorities are unable to combat the inexplicable
attacks. The film ends on an ambiguous note, as the car carrying main
characters slowly makes its way through a landscape in which
thousands of birds are perching.
Dozens
of residents in the peaceful town of Purmerend, about 10 miles north
of Dutch city of Amsterdam, have been injured in bird attacks, very
much reminiscent of the Hitchcock film. In recent weeks there has
been a scare in French capital Paris about possibility of aerial
terror attacks from drones flying in skies over Paris at night, but
for this town, the attacks are real and are being made by a large
bird.
For
last three weeks, a large bird known as European eagle owl (Bubo
Bubo) has been silently swooping down on unsuspecting residents of
this town and attacking them at nights. This bird, known as the most
feared hunter of the night, comes down so silently that the victim
does not hear him at all before he strikes. The attack is usually
bloody because its claws are razor-sharp. The European eagle owl is
one of the largest owl species, with a wing-span of up to 1.80 metres
(almost six feet) and weighing up to three kilos (seven pounds).
In a
latest attack this week two members of a local athletics club were
attacked, with one runner requiring stitches for six head wounds
caused by the nocturnal bird of prey’s talons. The club has
cancelled all training until further notice. Earlier, the bird has
carried out at least 15 attacks on residents and workers at
Prinsenstichting home for the handicapped, who have so much terrified
that they do not want to venture outside in night times.
The
owl has injured so far dozens of residents of this northern Dutch
town of Purmerend. The town city council has advised residents to
take up umbrellas against vigilante owls and venture out at night
armed with umbrellas, helmets and hats. It also says that it is
trying to find a solution. According to a report in the Dutch
English-language news site NL Times, "The municipality plans to
apply for an exemption from the province so that the bird can be
caught and released somewhere else."
Mr.
Gejo Wassink of the Netherlands' OWN owl foundation has tried to give
an explanation of this strange and unusual behaviour of this bird,
which appears to be a female. He says; " 'Either the owl was
reared in captivity and released into the wild and now associates
humans with food — meaning it's not really 'attacking' people or it
may have heightened hormone levels as the breeding season starts,
which influences its behaviour and makes it defend its territory.”
Meanwhile,
Dailymail of UK has reported on its web site that a bird of the same
breed has attacked and has broken the arm of a 70 year old woman
living in Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, England. She saw this
bird and tried to photograph him perched on a lamppost and hooting.
Because the bird was so noisy, she went outside and shone her torch
on bird's enormous brown eyes. The owl did not like that and drew his
wings up and straight flew towards her. She tried to run back to her
house but while dodging the bird,she tripped and fractured her right
forearm as she broke her fall.
Back
to Purmerend, where its citizens are hoping that the city will soon
catch this rogue bird. The main problem appears to be that the
European eagle owl is a protected species that requires special
permission to be trapped. City council says that they want to catch
the owl as city’s residents are in danger, but The procedures can
still take some time. They have therefore advising people to stay
away from the owl and advice the night strollers in the area to
shield themselves with umbrellas.
28th
February 2015
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