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You can also watch and chat on the Owl Center's YouTube profile.
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SupportYou can make a tax-deductible contribution to help support this project. Your contribution will help feed the owls, maintain and modify the aviaries, cover veterinary bills, purchase new technology when needed, and more. It costs $18/day to feed all six of the Owl Center's owls, and you can click here to buy the owls dinner or make a general donation.
If you prefer to use PayPal you may use the link below. Or you can mail a check to:
International Owl Center PO Box 536 Houston, MN 55943 |
If you have multiple observations to report, please use this form. Once your observation is submitted, reload that page for a new form.
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WHY ARE THESE OWLS IN CAPTIVITY?
Iris cannot live in the wild because she is blind in one eye. She is held under permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as part of a research project to study their vocalizations. This captive breeding situation has helped:
• Document the complete vocal repertoire of the Great Horned Owl and associated behaviors
• Track the development of the territorial hoot in young owls
• Determine the stability of the territorial hoot of individual owls over time
• Determine if there are inherited territorial hoot characteristics
This research is helping future Great Horned Owl researchers understand their study subjects much better and may lessen the need to capture and mark owls to identify individuals.
Rusty the Great Horned Owl's vision declined to the point of blindness and he earned his angel wings on January 31, 2022.
More background information here.
Iris cannot live in the wild because she is blind in one eye. She is held under permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as part of a research project to study their vocalizations. This captive breeding situation has helped:
• Document the complete vocal repertoire of the Great Horned Owl and associated behaviors
• Track the development of the territorial hoot in young owls
• Determine the stability of the territorial hoot of individual owls over time
• Determine if there are inherited territorial hoot characteristics
This research is helping future Great Horned Owl researchers understand their study subjects much better and may lessen the need to capture and mark owls to identify individuals.
Rusty the Great Horned Owl's vision declined to the point of blindness and he earned his angel wings on January 31, 2022.
More background information here.