This may remain a hoot-dunit.<\/p>\n
Nebula, the six-year-old fugitive European barn owl<\/a>, remains on the lam nearly three weeks after hightailing it from a Long Island nature sanctuary.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been no credible sightings\u201d in the last week, according to Janine Bendicksen, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Director at Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown.<\/p>\n This is the second time Nebula has flown the coop. Sweetbriar Nature Center<\/p>\n Sweetbriar staffers have said it is possible Nebula could have died, as she was\u00a0bred in\u00a0captivity and has relied on humans for her care all six years of her life.<\/p>\n However, Sweetbriar staffers remains hopeful Nebula\u2019s natural instincts could kick in, meaning it is possible she\u2019s started hunting rodents and small mammals, including rabbits, for her survival.<\/p>\n Typically, barn\u00a0owls\u00a0can die after three days without food or water, becoming dehydrated which leads to organ failure.<\/p>\n Sweetbriar staffers have looked into every the dozens of tips they\u2019ve received since Nebula slipped away from her handler on Oct. 25. \u201cWe\u2019ve been all over Long Island, and people are still out there looking for her,\u201d Bendicksen told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the tips we\u2019ve received have been for Great Horned owls,\u201d which are native to Long Island and hoot. Barn owls screech, which has also led to \u201creports that ended up being squirrels,\u201d Bendicksen said.<\/p>\n