 Three people were injured in one young girl was taken to the emergency room after a recent owl attack at Lake Bemidji State Park. Haiti Clowder shows us how the park is handling the incident and also brings us reaction from the mother of the young girl. She had five scratches and three puncture like holes, like straight little holes. A three-year-old girl was walking with her family on this trail at Lake Bemidji State Park when an owl suddenly attacked, causing minor scratches on her head. We heard screaming, I turn around on the bike and see this owl like flapping its wings all over her. According to park officials, the incident occurred near the Rocky Point Trail in the waterfront area. The cause of the attack is unknown, but noise and activity can trigger owls or something could be wrong with the owl, for example a brain parasite. Maybe mid to late summer is when they're defending their little ones, they're not quite capable of flying yet and so they're trying to protect them from predators. Barred owls nest in hollow trees and live in dense forested areas. They are common in Minnesota but don't see a difference in humans and other predators. We went out and looked for the owl on Monday and haven't seen it and to the best of my knowledge it hasn't been seen since Sunday. She's got crazy curly wild hair so maybe it thought it was an animal, I don't know. Signs like this are posted throughout the park to inform visitors that the Rocky Point Trail is closed until further notice. Even after hearing about the attack, visitors aren't shying away. Britt and Anders Mattson are visiting from the cities and were surprised that this happened. Owls usually aren't thought of as an attacking animal, but now they're attacking people. It's just an odd thing. Once they came in, park staff told them to stay off the trail. We figured we're close enough to a spot where it's like a parking spot that it should be fine and not back in the woods, it should be okay. Doug Mainrearing was at the park with his family and has been coming for more than 20 years. He says he was disappointed to learn he wouldn't be able to use the trail. We're a little concerning but we're from Wyoming so we don't really have a whole lot of owls out that way. So we'd like to see one and it's not exactly going to keep us out of that trail. As soon as they open it back up, we're going to go take a hike on that trail. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants you to know that this was a rare occurrence and people shouldn't be alarmed. There's ways you can stay safe. These birds often will attack the tallest thing, the tallest part of you. And so if you were to carry a flag or carry an umbrella so that you have something that's taller than you, the birds would be more likely to attack that than your head. If you know there are nesting owls nearby, leave them alone and use caution if you're having activity around them. She says if an owl attacks her again, mama I'm going to duck. I'm like okay, well if it happens again, I'm glad you have a game plan. In Bemidji, Hady Clodder, Lakeland News. The owl attack has not discouraged the Schmidts. Brianna says she hopes to eventually go back to Lake Bemidji State Park. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.