Awwww!!!

OK, time for your daily dose of cute overload!  The Austrian Times reports:

When train driver Guo Zuchun saw a family of baby owls perching on the tracks ahead of him, he could hardly believe his eyes.

"They were so small I almost didn't see them," explained Gho, who was taking power station workers to their plant in Chongqing city in southern China.

"But I slammed on the brakes and when we went to look there were three baby owls hopping around on the rails," he added.





Wildlife experts believe the Little Owl chicks' nest had been destroyed in a storm leaving the youngsters - then still too small to fly - stranded.

Two were given to a local wildlife centre to be raised, but Guo was allowed to keep one as a pet.

Now the young owl thinks his new life is a hoot, says Gou.

"I take him to work every day and he sits on the dashboard in front of me having a good look at what's going on around us," he said.

There's more at the link.

I love the picture of the small child peering quizzically at the owl - who's peering back just as quizzically!  It always amazes (and amuses) me how the young of many species instinctively identify (and identify with) each other, even if they may become mortal enemies in adulthood.

Peter