Living alongside Australia’s unique wildlife is part of everyday life for many, especially in regional and suburban areas. From colourful birds visiting our gardens to curious possums exploring our roofs, these encounters remind us of the natural world beyond our doorstep.
But it’s not every day that a trip to Officeworks turns into a wildlife rescue mission, but that’s precisely what happened at the store recently.
Staff arriving for their morning shift were greeted by an unexpected new colleague: a boobook owl, calmly surveying its domain from the store’s cavernous roof.
At first, the team hoped their feathered visitor would realise the error of his ways and make a dignified exit.
They even placed a water bowl on the ground, hoping to keep the owl comfortable while it figured things out. But as the hours ticked by and the owl continued to do laps above the aisles, it became clear that this was no ordinary shopping trip for either party.
That’s when the staff called in the big guns: Keith Porteous, also known as The Wildlife Rescuer. Porteous is a local legend on the Sunshine Coast, renowned for his calm approach and knack for solving animal emergencies that would leave most of us scratching our heads.
Porteous’s first attempt was to catch the owl while it slept during the day—a classic move, but this boobook was too clever by half.
Undeterred, Porteous returned the next day, armed with mealworms and mice to tempt the owl. But the bird, clearly unimpressed by the menu, stayed put.
‘The store had the lights on 24 hours, and the bird being nocturnal, it was totally spun out by that,’ Porteous explained.
‘The factor that concerned me most is, like all big stores, they lay baits for rodents, so there was a high possibility it might pick up one of those in the store. So I was quite keen to get it out as quickly as possible.’
After three days of cat-and-mouse (or, more accurately, owl-and-human), Porteous finally managed to capture the bird using an extremely fine net that was virtually invisible to the owl.
Video footage shows Porteous’s patience and skill as he gently retrieves the bird, which had likely chased its dinner into the warehouse and then found itself hopelessly lost among the high ceilings and glass doors.
Once safely in hand, Porteous checked the owl in the staff locker room, found it healthy, and released it back into the wild in the car park. A happy ending for all involved—and a story the Officeworks team won’t soon forget.
But this isn’t an isolated incident. Australia’s unique wildlife is one of the great joys of living here, but it also means that encounters like this are becoming more common.
Just last year, Bunnings shoppers in Melbourne’s west were concerned about a barn owl that had taken up residence in the store.
Earlier this year, two Coles stores were visited by curious magpies, with one bird making itself at home in a Canberra supermarket for a whole month.
Porteous said he used to get two or three call-outs a year for birds stuck in shops, but in the past six months alone, he’s completed 10 to 12 rescues.
‘Over the last few years I have done quite a lot, but it’s stepped up a heap this year compared to others,’ he said.
Other wildlife rescuers have noticed the same trend, with veteran rescuer Nigel Williamson remarking, ‘I’ve been getting birds out of supermarkets for 40 years now, but it does seem to me that I’m doing more and more of them as time goes on.’
So, what’s behind this increase? Is it simply that more people know who to call, or are our feathered friends becoming more adventurous—or perhaps more desperate—as urban sprawl encroaches on their habitats?
It’s likely a bit of both. As our cities grow and green spaces shrink, birds and other wildlife are forced to adapt, sometimes with comical (and occasionally concerning) results.
Have you ever had a close encounter with wildlife in an unexpected place? Maybe a cheeky magpie in the car park, or a possum at home in your shed? We’d love to hear your stories—share them in the comments below!
Also read: The chicks are alright: what songbirds can teach us about divorce and moving on
