Flying Free

RAYMONDVILLE - Five barn owls - two sets of them siblings - soared above the Thomas Ranch at dusk on Friday following a brief rehabilitation period at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville.

The owls arrived at the zoo late last year, beginning in November. People often take owls to the zoo after finding them in attics or deer blinds, said Thomas deMaar, the senior zoo veterinarian.

Owls usually stay with their parents, which makes it necessary for them to be rehabilitated before allowed back into the wild to fend for themselves.

Four of the barn owls - the two sets of siblings - were taken to the zoo as babies, or "fluff balls," while another was nearly an adult.

"Even though they look like adults, they're children," he said. "Their mothers hunt for them."

Over their time at the zoo, deMaar taught the owls how to fly, starting in small cages and slowly moving to bigger ones. They were also taught to hunt for mice in pools.

"If they're gone in the morning, they know how to hunt and kill," he said, adding that it's a sign they're ready to be released into the wild.

DeMaar scanned the Thomas Ranch on Friday evening before the owls were released.

"This is a great place for them," deMaar said as owners of the ranch handled the owls before letting them fly free. "There's plenty of food here."

The zoo's wildlife rehabilitation program spends approximately $30,000 a year on getting animals back into the wild, he said.

Owl nests are usually found in man-made structures, which might become frustrating for a homeowner. Still, deMaar said they're often best left alone.

"If people call for advice, we would like to leave them alone," he said. "Give them a few weeks, they'll fly out on their own. But that doesn't happen often, so, we'll take them."