It’s generally assumed that the intended targets of fishing lines and hooks are, well, fish. It wouldn’t occur to most of us that fishing tackle could affect an owl — especially not a fluffy-headed great horned owlet. But that’s exactly what happened at Novato’s Stafford Lake last spring.

A park visitor noticed an injured owlet and reported the bird to the rangers. Ranger Reilani Peleti found an abnormal-looking owlet sitting on a picnic table. She called the Marin Humane officer on duty, who came out for a welfare check.

The officer discovered that the owlet had fishing line wrapped around its legs, and he rushed the young bird to WildCare’s wildlife hospital. On intake, an exam and X-rays revealed shocking news: the owlet had ingested a fishing line and hook, and the hook was lodged in the owl’s heart and lung. WildCare’s veterinarian determined that this was an injury that, unfortunately, the owl could not survive.

For the staff at Stafford Lake and the park visitor, the tragedy of the owlet left a lasting impression. They discovered that the owl’s nest was actually partially made of used fishing line and guessed that the owlet had likely swallowed the hook and become hopelessly entangled while still in the nest.

They monitored the remaining owlets and the owl parents to make sure no other owls became entangled. They also took real action to prevent such a tragedy from happening again by installing two fishing line chutes along the lake’s shoreline, and another at the Black Point Boat Launch. Fishing chutes are L-shaped containers that make it easy to dispose of fishing line and render it inaccessible to wildlife.

The effectiveness of this intervention can’t be overstated.

“So far, the fishing line chutes have been filling up quickly and we have already seen a reduction in the amount of fishing line along our shoreline,” Peleti writes. “Our intention with the fishing line chutes was to not only clean up our shoreline of litter but also to help prevent other birds from using fishing line as a material for their nests.”

This is fantastic news for wildlife.

WildCare sees entanglement injuries every day in its wildlife hospital. Most days, WildCare’s medical team admits animals with their body parts tightly constricted in fishing line, string, netting — both soccer nets and garden netting — and even human hair. There are so many ways human detritus can endanger wildlife of all species. Human-made filaments are meant to be hard to break without cutting, and for an entangled animal with no tools, it’s virtually impossible to escape.

You can make a real and tangible difference for wildlife by properly disposing of anything that could potentially present an entanglement hazard, including fishing line, string and netting. Tightly wrap the potential entanglement hazard and dispose of it in a closed garbage container.

The proactive work by the park visitor and Peleti and her team to install and monitor the fishing line chutes has without a doubt saved many animals from suffering and death. Always properly dispose of fishing line, hooks and tackle, and, as long as it’s safe for you to do so, pick up improperly disposed-of line and throw it away safely in a chute or bin.

Alison Hermance is the director of communications and marketing for WildCare. Marin Humane contributes Tails of Marin articles and welcomes your comments and questions. Visit marinhumane.org, find us on social media @marinhumane, or email lbloch@marinhumane.org.