Snowy owl living at PHL doesn’t face extermination

A snowy owl has taken up residence at Philadelphia International Airport. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Animal lovers need not fear that a snowy owl living at Philadelphia International Airport faces extermination from overeager animal control specialists.

After a trio of snowy owls took up residence at New York’s JFK airport in December, they quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a hunting rifle.

But PHL doesn’t take such a harsh stance toward the creatures.

A snowy owl known as Philly was recently trapped at the airport and brought to a bird sanctuary in Lancaster County to live away from the danger of commercial airliners.

But Philly recently flew away from Lancaster back to his home at the airport, according to Lancaster Online.

However, airport officials say there’s no need to fear for Philly’s fate.

“Our policy is to trap and relocate,” said PHL spokeswoman Victoria Lupica. “[We] have done so recently with a snowy owl.”

Ornithologists say snowy owls, which are an unusual new addition to the region this winter, enjoy airports due to their resemblance to the snowy tundra that the owl usually inhabits.