Gandalf - the agoraphobic owl

[Kamean]

An owl who is afraid of flying outside in big open spaces has been given his own red brick house.
Gandalf the Great Grey Owl gets scared flying out in the open so his owners have built his aviary inside a brick shed.
He now spends his days watching the world go by out of his window.


Mark Bridger captured this owl looking out of a window at an outbuilding at Knowsley Safari Park in Prescot, Merseyside

'He is a bit of a wuss as he doesn't like flying in big open spaces,' said owner Janet Southard, who runs the Wild Arena photography company, based inside Knowsley Safari Park near Liverpool.
'When we moved here we put him in the shed temporarily while we built his aviary outside.


Mr Bridger, 44, from West Malling Kent, said: 'It transpires that the great grey owl is called Gandalf and lives in that outbuilding.'


Gandalf the Great Grey Owl gets scared flying out in the open so his owners have built his aviary inside a brick shed.


The owl lives at Knowsley Safari Park and belongs to the staff of Wild Arena photographic workshops.

But amateur photographer Mark Bridger, 44, from Kent, had quite a fright when he saw the big round face at the window.
'I looked around and saw this face at the window, then suddenly realised it was an owl. It gave me quite a shock.
'You don't normally expect to see an owl in a house. He looked quite ghostly.'

Found here.

[Tìtstewan]

I never see that before!
An owl, that won't fly outsite this house.

[Alyara Arati]

Poor baby, I wonder if something hurt him in a situation like that, and he remembers... hence his dislike of open spaces?

[Stranger Come Knocking]

  This actually made my day.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Very curious. Its interesting that we associate owls with intelligence. Yet falconers I know who work with owls tell me that they are one of the less intelligent raptors, and are hard to train.

But a really beautiful bird, and I hope that someday, Gandalf will get over his fear of big spaces.

As an aside, many captive big cats also have a fear of open spaces. It is very natural for felines to consider the space they are in-- big ro small-- their territory, and anything outside it is 'total unknown'. If a big cat does manage to escape (usually through a fence breach caused by a storm, a keeper forgetting to close a gate, etc.), they will not usually wander very far due to this fear. Putting some food in their enclosure and leaving the gate open is often all that is needed to get them to return 'home'. This is also why escaped big cats rarely harm anyone (when there is no extenuating factors, like a person trying to harm them). They are scared and tend to hide.

[Kamean]

Opinion of the scientist from another forum:

"Maybe once got into the house and he liked it. It was full of mice, so he does not want to leave. Why, if it's easier?
Most likely, she is quite happy. Animals don't have experience: "they have, and I haven't". They are either satisfied or not. Because they look at life ... easier. It was easier. Therefore, mental disorders are much less. Most likely, this owl was pleased that she has a safe home, food and fun "television" in the window. If he really wanted to fly - flew to without question, not even thinking about his "phobia."

I hope that's true.

[Tìtstewan]

Most Animals choosing the way of least resistance. A house full of mice is like a paradise for an owl.

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Mouse -> Mice

Thought I would throw that in there.

But I have to say that this sounds more like this owl has been domesticated to a point and, like Kamean said, it has food and shelter, so why leave?  My cats don't even want to go outside anymore because they know I will provide food and shelter for them (and they're getting old, but hey).

[Kamean]

Mouse -> Mice

Irayo

[Tìtstewan]

Mouse -> Mice

Irayo

Don't worry, I made the same mistake.

[Alyara Arati]

Birds think in a much different manner than we do.  Humans tend to equate intelligence with "thinks like us".  We have more in common with predators, and from there, pack hunters.  So horses, who think like herd creatures and a prey species, are not seen as particularly bright among the companion animals, but if you ever hurt a horse, it will remember you for the rest of its life.  I don't know if this follows for diurnal vs. nocturnal hunting birds, but having worked with a number of owls, I can tell you that I found them much easier to handle than hawks.  However, I was attempting to rehabilitate them, rather than train them to perform a certain behavior.  There is also the possibility that Gandalf experiences subtle pain on long flights from prior injuries that healed well to all appearances, but continue to cause discomfort under the stress of prolonged exercise.

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Or maybe he's just a grumpy old owl man who stares out the window thinking, "Get off my lawn and stop taking pictures you young whippersnappers!"