Reader\'s Digest Canada - 05.2020

CAROL LINNITT/THE NARWHAL

later, rodent bones and fur. Today, he

lives in a spacious aviary at the breeding

centre, which houses 24 other spotted

owls. A retinue of biologists and techni-

cians monitor his health and progress.

Each late afternoon—at dusk during

breeding season—two grain-fed eutha-

nized mice or one euthanized juvenile

rat are delivered to his feeding platform.

The owl is named Dante, which

comes from the Italian “durante,” mean-

ing enduring. “He’s a little champ now,”

McCulligh says.

mcculligh grew up in Ontario dream-

ing of raising endangered species to

release into the wild. But it was large

mammals she envisioned, not birds.

She was unfamiliar with spotted owls

until 2012, when a friend sent her a

posting for an unpaid internship at the

breeding centre. She loved working

with the birds so much she stayed.

The facility includes a handful of

trailers brought in by the B.C. govern-

ment as part of its investment in the

breeding enterprise. When I visited, an

intern scrubbed plastic cages for future

owl food—350 to 400 mice and rats

housed in a trailer that was humming

with scuffling and squeaks.

The centre’s original plan to release

spotted owls into the wild starting

in 2018 has been delayed until 2021,

Biologist Jasmine

McCulligh uses an

artificial egg to gather

data in the nests of

breeding owls.

reader’s digest

86 may 2020