Great horned owl known as "Mrs. Tiger" in Oklahoma City. (KFOR-TV)
Game wardens are trying to find out who shot and killed an Oklahoma City great horned owl with millions of followers around the world, according to a report.
KFOR-TV reported Friday that the owl was killed Oct. 4 with a pellet gun. Great Horned owls are federally protected and it is a misdemeanor to kill one in Oklahoma.
Seven million viewers had logged on to watch the owl and her mate on a live camera feed over the years, according to the station.
“This is a celebrity bird,” game warden Wade Farrar told KFOR. “We treat it a little more special than if it was out in the woods and no one cared about that bird. This one had millions of followers all across the world.”
Jeff Click set up the video stream for his young daughter in 2010 when the owls made a next in a second-story window box.
“I just love them so much,” 11 year-old Alessondra Click told the station. “They were like a part of our family and when my parents told me it was like a pet dying, it made me really sad and kind of mad.”
Alessondra had named the owl that was killed "Mrs. Tiger" because of her markings. Her mate had similar markings and his name was "Mr. Tiger."
KFOR in its report aired footage from a neighbor's surveillance camera that shows Mrs. Tiger crash landing into a home and falling to her death.
“Who could do this to an owl, let alone one that is perhaps among the most well-known owls in the world,” Click said on Alessondra’s OKC Great Horned Owl Facebook page.
He wondered if the culprit was an adult who was tired of the hooting or a “careless kid” who didn’t know the seriousness of his actions.
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