The Internet Is Falling in Love With Owls Spike and George—See Why in These Viral Videos

Spike, a small but mighty Eastern Screech Owl, rose to fame after Nebraska-based Fontenelle Forest shared his touching story on Instagram last month. The post is up to 5.6 million views and has thousands of comments.

The 3- or 4-year-old owl was found trapped in a train car, during which he sustained brain damage that made it impossible for him to survive in the wild. But since finding his new home at Fontenelle Forest, one of Nebraska's oldest conservation organizations, Spike has been thriving.

Spike made his social media debut in November when the conservation shared a video of him with the caption: "This Eastern Screech-Owl is always curious and ready for an adventure!" The post explained how this specific type of owl has incredible hearing, which allows them to locate prey even in complete darkness—making them excellent hunters at night.

But the Internet really fell in love with him in January when Fontenelle Forest shared more details about the adorable owl. "Get to know Spike! 🦉 Spike recently soared to Instagram fame, so we asked his bestie (and raptor care specialist), Ell, to introduce him to his new fans!" the caption read.

In the post, viewers learn Spike is an excellent roommate to George, another owl who arrived at the conservation 12 years ago after his nest tree was mistakenly cut down. While George is notorious for being a picky roommate, he and Spike have proven to be a perfect match.

"We've attempted to house several screech owls with George in the past, but George has wanted nothing to do with them. The real issue was he would hunger strike and refuse to eat while another owl was in his enclosure," a raptor care specialist from Fontenelle Forest told decorvow.com.

However, when Spike came to the conservation, the two got along pretty quickly. George even started allopreening (grooming) Spike, which is generally only done between parents and chicks or mates. To make matters even better, George took the leftovers from his mouse from the night before and put them at Spike's feet.

"We started second-guessing the owls' sexes! Unlike many songbirds, male and female owls don't appear any different physically, only that the females are typically (sometimes by 30 percent) larger," Fontenelle Forest expert says. "Unless either owl has a blood test or lays an egg, we'll never know for certain that both owls are males."

Since George's allopreening moment, employees at Fontenelle Forest haven't seen any behavior to indicate that the two are mated. "Our speculation is that George sensed that Spike wasn't a threat due to his brain injury and that he might need a little help," the expert says.

George and Spike travel to elementary schools and nursing homes together, serving as educational raptor ambassadors. Recently, Spike was the guest of honor at a local Omaha brewery for a benefit. He also charmed visitors at Fontenelle Forest's yearly raptor-themed Valentine's celebration, named 'Talontine's Party.'