The allure of Startled Owl lies in its whimsical depiction of a frequently represented subject in Inuit art—the owl—here portrayed as a startled creature with wild eyes, an agape beak, and erect feathers creating a vibrant decorative pattern. The image is graphically striking and was used for many years by TD Bank to promote its Inuit art collection. Unlike her prolific husband, Jamasie Teevee, Angotigaluk produced only fourteen prints from her drawings before her death in 1967.

Startled Owl belongs to the "Dorset Series," a group of about seventy prints also known as the Dorset Collection, the Northern Collection, or Northern Releases. Unlike the cataloged annual Cape Dorset print collections, these prints were not sold in southern galleries. They were instead sold informally and locally to visitors through the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op, resulting in their relative rarity in the art market compared to "regular" prints.