![]() Fortunately, Koko is quite tame and relaxed around people. While certainly alert to the situation, Koko calmly accepted the enthusiasm of awestruck children. The more civilized side of Koko was on display at our annual Biodiversity Day Wrap-up/Fall Fun Fest on Saturday, September 28, when the owl faced its largest audience yet. Through pellet analysis, one can often determine exactly what the owl has recently eaten. Because owls have no crop to digest hair, bones, and feathers, they regurgitate pellets daily that contain these items. Our owl morbidly consumes the head first, sometimes leaving the rest for later consumption! This grizzly detail is actually important, and a key factor in any research to determine what prey items are being consumed. Through Koko’s feeding habits, we’re able to catch a glimpse of the owl’s wild tendencies.Īs a means of hiding their prey, owls may swallow a portion of their kill whole (sometimes removing the head first), then fly to cover to finish the meal, thereby avoiding competition from other predators. This actually is an important consideration, as the owl’s wings are fully functional, and Koko knows where to find the door!Īs what might be considered an antidote to the realities of life in captivity, this screech enjoys fine dining in-tune with its voracious appetite, with a healthy supply of two to three mice provided daily. Koko’s keen sense of hearing picks up where the eyes leave off the owl’s head quickly turning at the slightest crunch of a leaf under one’s foot.ĭuring the six months we have had Koko, we’ve gradually added perches to the mew, such that one isn’t quite sure where Koko will be sitting when we enter to feed, clean the cage, or take him out for a stroll. The large eyes, fixated within large sockets of a head that can turn 270 degrees around, are in tune to your every twitch. Of a list of potential names that school groups helped create, the winner was Kokokehom (“Koko” for short), a Wampanoag Indian name that fits perfectly the mystical qualities an owl possesses.Īnyone approaching (or having the pleasure of handling) Koko, wouldn’t remotely associate the bird with any visual handicap. Sure enough, later that month, we received our very own Screech Owl which is no less wild, but partially impaired due to a retinal detachment in its left eye. During March of this year, we received an unlikely visit from a wild Eastern Screech Owl (Otis asio) (see sightings listings) in what must have been Mother Nature’s way of saying, prepare yourselves for what’s to come.
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