RENTON, Wash. – Track practice at Liberty High School used to be a hoot, until recent encounters with an attacker at the local Maplewood Park forced students to reconsider their route.

“I was coming back from a run and it was dark and I was by myself,” sophomore Bailee Hawkins told KOMO. “I fell something tug on my hair and I turn around and nothing’s there so I kept going and then it happened again and I felt claws so it was weird.”

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The claws belonged to an owl who didn’t take kindly to the visit. At least four other students on the track team have also reported similar situations over the last week in a section of trail in the northeast corner of the park.

“She said she got attacked by an owl and honestly I didn’t believe her,” Hawkins’ mother, Debra, told the news site, adding that the two visited the emergency room after the incident.

“As we started parting her hair, we found all these patches of blood,” the mother said.

Student Jake Knoblick said the aggressive owl is “trying to dive-bomb people.”

“It’s kinda crazy,” Knoblick said. “I’m just trying to do a run.”

“It’s definitely the most interesting thing to happen to me on a run,” said Hannah Norton, another victim.

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It’s not the first time owls have attacked locals in the Renton area, and most attacks have involved runners. Officials have closed trails and posted notices of “aggressive owls in area” to warn residents, KOMO reports.

Student Hayley Archer, who was also attacked, said the students’ routine hasn’t changed, so they’re unsure what exactly prompted the most recent incidents.

“We run here every single day and then just one day the owl shows up,” she said.

According to KOMO:

Fish and wildlife officials said there are no real reasons why owls sometimes attack and it’s not mating season.

State biologists said it could have something to do with the light this time of year, or it could be territorial. But, they said animals are like humans, and most likely the owl was just trying to find its place.