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Two tiny, white, fluffy owlets were born to America’s only northern spotted owls to have bred in captivity, Polka and Dot, at the High Desert Museum. The chicks will help in efforts to save this controversial threatened species. Visitors can see the growing chicks, which periodically appears from beneath Dot in their nest inside a re-created forest habitat. Visitors may also see Dot feeding pieces of mice and chicks to the owlets. Polka is guarding them from a perch a few feet above the nest. A video monitor aimed into the nest allows visitors to get a bird’s-eye view of this fascinating and important development. This is an exhilarating time at the Museum,” said President Janeanne A. Upp. “We are so proud to be the only facility in North America to have northern spotted owls that have successfully bred in captivity. That is a testament to the thoughtful and careful stewardship of the Museum’s wildlife program.”

“This goes to the heart of our mission of helping our visitors connect to the wildlife and natural resources of the High Desert, and become citizen stewards who can make a difference,” she said. Museum Wildlife Curator Nolan Harvey said, “The species is close to extinction in British Columbia and overall, the species in the Northwest is not doing well. A lot is going against the survival of these birds. For a museum that is not known for its wildlife collection to be a part of helping ensure this species’ survival speaks to the passion of our dedicated and experienced staff of six.”The chicks may be released into the wild, or go to the Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Centre near Fort Langley, British Columbia, where they would be bred. The Museum plans to give the chicks names only if they go on to live in captivity. he owls produced chicks at the Museum in 2003, 2004, and 2005 — a testament to the quality of their habitat and care at the Museum.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 8:33 am by Kim Feer and is filed under _05 May 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.