By Tim Binnall
A Michigan sheriff's department captured some amazing and rather rare footage of an owl swimming in a lake. The odd scene reportedly took place early Monday morning at Lake St. Clair and was spotted by officers from the marine division of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office. Fortunately, they managed to film the wondrous sight and subsequently shared it on their Facebook account.
Marveling that they had "a special guest this morning," the sheriff's office theorized that the creature was a "snowy owl that has been seen on several occasions in the area." In the video, the bird swims along through the lake until it reaches the shore, where it climbs up onto a rock and shakes the water off from its feathers. The owl then takes off and flies away from the area, proving to be adept at air, sea, and land travel.
Since owls do not possess waterproof feathers, for them to swim is something of an unusual occurrence and, wildlife experts say, generally only happens when the creatures are forced into such a predicament. Although the sheriff's office did not speculate as to what led this event unfold, they asked residents to "please remember to respect these beautiful animals by being a good observer" and keep their distance from the birds should they encounter them.