The original “O RLY?” Snowy Owl image macro used a photo taken by nature photographer John White, which was subsequently posted to a Usenet newsgroup named alt.binaries.pictures.animals on February 17th, 2001. White has since sent numerous cease and desist letters to those using the image without his permission.
O RLY?
Yes, this is indeed the meme owl.
Know Your Meme
Thank you.