Giant Owl Not Seen For 150 Years Is Photographed In The Wild For The First Time

October 26, 2021

A giant owl that was thought to be extinct has been photographed in the wild for the first time in 150 years by scientists working in Ghana.

giant owl sighting 150 years
Giant Owl / Credit: @robsrw and @ja_tobias

The Shelley's Eagle Owl was spotted by Rob Williams and Dr. Joseph Tobias on the Atewa ridge in Ghana.

It is the first confirmed sighting since the 1870s. The bird was first described in 1872 from a specimen obtained from a local hunter in Ghana.

Despite only seeing the bird for 10-15 seconds, Williams and Tobias managed to snap enough pictures to identify it.

Shelley's eagle-owls have distinctive black eyes, a yellow bill, and are huge in size, which in combination rule out all other African forest owls.

"It was so large, at first we thought it was an eagle," Tobias said. "Luckily it perched on a low branch and when we lifted our binoculars our jaws dropped. There is no other owl in Africa’s rainforests that big."


Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz

feel good videoCouple Rescues Prairie Dog From Their Dog's Mouth, Then Decides To Adopt It

feel good storiesHungry Elephant Casually Walks Into Grocery Store For Snacks In Thailand

feel good storiesWild Orcas Keep Giving Humans Gifts, Leaving Experts Puzzled

feel good storiesMy Girlfriend Gifted Me My Father’s Handwriting To Keep Forever

feel good storiesWe Can’t Stop Looking At These Adorable Baby Loon Photos Taken On A Lake

feel good storiesThis Couple Built A Grass Patch For Their Cat, And She’s Obsessed With It

feel good videoBaby Elephant’s Trunk Steals The Show In Adorable Treat Time Video

feel good video'Am I Allowed To Be This Happy?' The Moment A Nervous Foster Dog Finally Lies In A Dog Bed

feel good videoGrandma Thinks She's 60. Her Reaction To Learning She's 90 Is Priceless

feel good videoWhat Happens When A Man With A Hose Meets A Group of Kids? Pure Magic

feel good videoChicken Or Pigeon? The Internet Can’t Believe This Bird Is Real

Chris Filippou 12:17 PM (3 minutes ago) to me