Florida
- Species - barred owl
- Scientific name - Strix varia
- Hatch year - Unknown, suspected 2017
- Sex- Female
- Weight - 1.75 lbs
- Location of origin - Florida
- Unreleasable due to partial amputation of L wing & scarring in both eyes, affecting vision
- Flighted - Limited
Florida’s hatch year is unknown, but we suspect she’s around 8 years old. She got her name from her home state, where she started her education ambassador career at SeaWorld Orlando. She would eventually make her way to our facility in 2018.
She has a partial amputation of a metacarpal in her left wing (in humans, it’s the bone that connects the ends of our fingers to our hand), and some scarring in both eyes. Both of these injuries would make hunting very challenging for a wild bird, as well as navigating its environment.
Barred owls are common in Minnesota, and have a very recognizable call: it’s a series of hoots that sounds like, “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you-all?” Their calls tend to be longer and have a higher pitch than that of a great horned owl, another common owl found in Minnesota.
