05/29/2026
Near Cody, Wyoming during brutal snowstorms in 2023, heavy ice buildup collapsed sections of frozen mountain caverns after repeated overnight avalanches shook the cliffs. Several owl chicks became trapped beneath cracked ice layers while freezing wind rushed through the narrow openings. Climbers later recorded a rhinoceros forcing the slabs upward with its shoulder until the frightened birds crawled free into safer snow-covered terrain nearby.