Imagine, taking a photo of an animal will lead to teeth broken. How ego can hurt a person really bad.
When approach the person, just say something nice like the owl is very beautiful and ask about it. Then ask permission to take photo, if not, then ok lah , thank him and walk away. he ok, then take photo and show appreciation.
These pple got their ego overrun them and hell break loose. That is why inner cultivation is very important, it helps not just helps you, it helps those around you and the world too.