You might have seen this image before. This special critter is one of the foremost quintessential owls (in towels) to grace our screens. A viral hit of the 2010s, this owl “won the internet” (as was the parlance at the time). In the tail end of the decade, the image enjoyed a resurgence with the caption “you’ve heard of Elf on a shelf, now get ready for…”
After tracking down the source, it turns out this Saw-whet’s name is Wheatley. He was posted in 2011 on DeviantArt by the user KodaSilverwing (see original photos 123 and 4)
From what it seems, the Wildlife Center is AIWC, which has been featured here before.
Here’s the story and some additional comments from the original poster, copied below:
“We now have a Saw Whet Owl that has come in to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center where I volunteer and he’s pretty much the most adorable little guy ever. I mean, all Saw Whet’s are adorable, but this guy just takes the cake haha.
“He flew into a window by accident (Window Strike) so he’s been pretty unstable but over the last few days he HAS been improving so that’s good.
“Hopefully little Wheatley can make a full recovery and return to the wild!
“He’s currently in his little towel donut that I made for him, resting.”
“There doesn’t seem to be really any major physical injures from what I saw and heard from one of the staff, so that’s good. =P”
“You should see his face after every time you give him a piece of food. He’ll look at you with his lovely eyes which pretty much say “More Please!”. It’s adorable haha.”
“I ‘named’ him Wheatley partially off Wheatley from Portal 2 (I LOVE HIM) actually haha. It’s partly from the Whet in his name as well.”
For those willing and able please consider helping fund Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at the following 🔗 DONATION LINK 🔗. Your generosity ensures the best possible care for their animal guests.
