OWL TATTOO - The owl, like many other animals that inhabited the Pacific Northwest, was used as a crest figure in many types of design. In some Northwestern cultures, perhaps because it appears at night with silent flight and an eerie call, it is associated with death and the souls of the departed, particularly the souls of ancestors. In the typically abstract and highly stylized designs of this region, the owl has large, round eyes and a sharp, short beak.