Timber

Timber was hatched in 2024 and came to our clinic after falling out of her nest. She healed well from most of her injuries but sustained problems with her vision that made her unreleasable. Our vets found that Timber had developed cataracts. Although they can get worse over time, our vets and naturalists observed her behavior and declared her vision did not seem to be deteriorating. However, her impaired eyesight would not allow her to catch prey in the wild. 

It’s important for raptors to have a functioning pair of eyes for successful hunting. Having damaged eyes makes it harder to catch food and navigate their surroundings; only having one working eye also affects depth perception (how to tell how far away something is).

Timber was one of two baby great horned owls that were named by the public during the summer of 2024. Her name was inspired by the similar colors of her species & wood produced from trees to be used commercially. By the time a baby great horned owl is 2 months old, it has reached its adult size and the majority of its flight feathers are fully grown.