ABILENE, Texas — Abilene Zoo's Bird Rehabilitation Center staff said Thursday it successfully released a great horned owl back into the wild.
The July 12 release comes after the zoo's 18-year-old great horned owl, Einstein, acted as a surrogate mother to the chick, successfully raising it and teaching it to fly and hunt.
A Big Country resident brought the great horned owlet to the rehabilitation center after storms swept through Sweetwater in March 2023. The resident reported they found the hours-old owlet on the ground, far below its nest and were unable to return it to the nest.
Einstein was showing signs of readiness to raise a chick and after a veterinary exam, zoo keepers decided giving Einstein an opportunity to be a surrogate mother to the owlet provided it the best chance for rehabilitation and eventual release.
“Einstein took to the owlet immediately, her motherly instincts kicked in and she started calling to it and brooding it – cuddling it,” Ryan King, bird rehabilitation keeper, said. “This is the second time Einstein has accepted a chick that came in through the Abilene Zoo Bird Rehabilitation Center. Not every bird will accept a chick that’s not its own, but Einstein continues to show her desire to be a mom. She’s been a great surrogate mother.”
By mid-July the owlet passed all of the necessary tests and was ready to be released back into the wild Wednesday in Sweetwater.