Playing With Fire

“So long as you’re not out there jumping in front of owls with your no-good friends!”

“Aw, nah baby, I’ll be good!”

Later:

Didn't we read owls have fairly weak beaks, and do their killing with their feet? And they can only control their grab mechanism by extending (to open) and retracting (to close). Owls are designed to drop on things, with their legs extended, and then let their formidable claws close as they absorb the impact.

So this squirrel is probably about as safe as it can be. The owl would have to jump in the air and come back down before the squirrel makes its escape, and squirrels can run upside down along the underside of a branch - utterly protected from the owl.

I think it's telling that the owl is utterly ignoring the squirrel. That's just not a likely catch.

Now, other raptors with strong, killing beaks, like hawks, that'd be playing Russian roulette. But the squirrel is probably totally safe with this owl, in this situation.

That’s an ominous pose

The owls name is Doom, and it comes for us all!