Update
Latest pictures of Apollo and the aggressive baby GHO. They have both settled in real well. They are eating well. I placed 2 live quail in the pen with them and now they are gone….the quail that is.
Original Story
During a windstorm it is not uncommon for immature birds to be blown down from the trees in which they have been living. We recommend putting the displaced birds back in their nests. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, this cannot always be done. Thanks to the efforts of a concerned citizen and Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control, this guy was picked up and brought to us. There were no injuries found. As you can see he is quite large for a baby Great Horned Owl!
Great Horned owls first attempt to leave the nest at about six weeks. At this stage they have not yet learned to fly. They will climb out onto branches near the nest for a couple of weeks, building up the courage to follow their parents on hunting sorties. This might have been what happened to this youngster that we picked up. He could have been out on a branch and was blown down by high winds. Since the parents continue to feed and train them for several more months, generally until early fall, we decided to enlist the help of our educational Great Horned Owl, Apollo, to serve as the surrogate parent. They have been placed with a falconer who will limit the interaction the youngster has with people.
From the looks of joy in this photo, we think Apollo will do an outstanding job of raising this little one. We will keep you updated and post photos & video on our website and facebook as they become available.
For more info, check out this guys rescue and treatment story at /birds/05072016-great-horned-owl
