How Did A Snow Owl Become This Week’s Biggest Celebrity?

It’s hard to predict — outside of anything The Walking Dead related — just what will be popular on the internet. If there was a formula for it, my job would be a lot easier. Take the above photo, for instance. It is, right now, becoming a viral sensation. The image was captured by a traffic camera in Quebec, and it depicts a snow owl in mid-flight. It certainly is a majestic creature, and with its wings spread out (spread owl, if you will) over the snow-laden landscape, it’s picturesque to say the least.

“I think they are attracted specifically to the highway because it has open, grassy fields nearby which is perfect for hunting their favorite prey, which is small rodents,” said Barbara Frei, the director of the McGill Bird Observatory.

What does this tell us about the internet, and furthermore, what does the instant viral sensation of this white, furry creature tell us about ourselves? Beauty is only skin deep, but this owl has a lot more to say, and if we just rotate our heads in an 180 degree fashion, perhaps we can hear what it is truly trying to convey… “Whooo. Whooo.”

I’ll translate:

“To go where you have never been, you must first traverse the snowy elements, then, prey upon your weaknesses and mutate them. Permit the tentacles of vapid interference to fall from your larger self, pushing the inner light that rests deep within your viscera to your outer sphere, where judgement remains only in those with malnourished souls. The vestiges of sap which you have misspent with tawdry machinations shall now cling to your wings, and the weight of the goo — which once cloaked you like cheap lipstick on a prostitute — drifts off like flecks of sunflower pollen. Go. Find your camera. Spread your wings. This is your moment.”

Or, something like that.

(via CBC)