Staff at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab spent days cleaning the concrete-covered great horned owl

An owl found partially encased in concrete after it got inside a cement mixer in south-western Utah is expected to fly free again after it was painstakingly cleaned by animal sanctuary workers who described the bird as a “fighter”.

The great horned owl was found at the Black Desert Resort in the south-western part of the state and arrived at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, earlier this month with its face, chest and right wing covered in dried concrete. After making sure the bird could breathe, sanctuary workers spent days cracking apart the concrete using forceps and cleaning its feathers using toothbrushes, dish soap and their fingers.