Our tiniest ambassador Zuri found a home with us in 2018. This mellow, pint-sized Western Screech Owl most likely collided with a car while hunting, causing head trauma and vision loss. Her other eye already was impaired from a cataract, so she would be unable to survive in the wild. Owls, unlike hawks, can hunt with just one eye, and Zuri may have been managing for some time with one good eye.
Western Screech owls have stocky, compact bodies and little tufted ears. They are strictly nocturnal and hunt their prey from the air, while most other owls hunt from a perch. Only 7-10 inches in body size, but a wing span of 21-24 inches, makes them fast and agile fliers. When they are scared or threatened, they have a unique way to disguise themselves by stretching their body, tightening their feathers, and blending in with a tree and its branches. Only the keenest of predators can detect them in this mode.
Zuri is a great addition to our education team and in our care could live to be 16-19 years old.
