B.C. northern spotted owl breeding program welcomes new chick
For now, you can just call her Chick D-22. She’s a rare northern spotted owl being raised by foster parents Bella and Jay in B.C.
“They’ve had babies in the past, but they are quite inexperienced. This is the first one they’re actually raising on their own,” explained Jasmine McCulligh, facility coordinator of the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program.
The chick hatched last month after being artificially incubated for 34 days at the Langley facility, the only one in the world breeding these owls.
“They’re one of the most endangered species in British Columbia,” said McCulligh.
“There’s fewer than five left in the wild, so the ones that we have here are super important to restore the population here in the province.”
Within Canada, the owls are only found in coastal B.C. South of the border, they live in Washington, Oregon and California.
In B.C, the owls’ existence became threatened due to habitat loss and competition from the barred owl.
The program to breed the endangered owls began 15 years ago, but McCulligh said it hasn’t been easy.
“No other organization has ever done it, so we’ve had to really start from scratch,” she explained. “We can’t look it up on Google.”
Jay and Bella, two endangered Northern Spotted Owls, are seen in their nest where they are fostering a new chick.
McCulligh said one of the biggest challenges they have faced is ending up with mostly male chicks.
“When you want to have one male and one female produce babies and you’re only having males, it's been hard to grow the population,” she said.
The goal is to release the owls back into areas of protected old growth forest.
They started out with six owls and now have 32 plus the chicks yet to be born this year.
The facility expects to finally release some owls this year for the first time ever.
“We’re not going to have 100 per cent success in the wild, unfortunately, but we’ve reached the point where we’re at capacity at the breeding centre,’ she said.
As for Chick D-22, she’s already grown a lot.
“She was about 100 grams and we think she’s probably close to 400 grams now,” McCulligh said.
The public’s invited to watch her through a livecam online and later play a part in giving this rare owl a name. The program says the peak times for seeing activity on the nest is when the owls are being fed, between 8:00-11:00 a.m. and 6:00-10:00 p.m.
Due to COVID-19, the facility has faced challenges including increased operational expenses and the cancellation of public outreach events.
To help raise funds, they’ve launched an “Adopt-a-Chick” program.
“We estimate it costs about $1700 per year to feed just one Northern Spotted Owl in its first year of life; so we’re hopeful that this fundraiser will help out with those costs” says McCulligh.
More information can be found online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
4th Indian national arrested, charged with murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Homicide investigators in B.C. say murder charges have been laid against a fourth Indian national in connection to the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Surrey gurdwara last year.
'I am angry': Alberta farmers will continue fight over world class motorsport resort
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
Man ticketed after allegedly trespassing again at Drake's Bridle Path mansion to get his bike
A man who tried to access Drake’s Bridle Path mansion earlier this week returned to the property Saturday and was apprehended again for allegedly trespassing, Toronto police say.
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Millions of Canadians have been exposed to potentially toxic chemicals, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Wildfire that forced evacuation of Fort Nelson, B.C., caused by tree falling on wires, mayor says
The wildfire that prompted the evacuation of more than 3,000 people near Fort Nelson, B.C., was caused by a tree falling on wires, according to the municipality's mayor.
Switzerland's Nemo wins 68th Eurovision Song Contest
Swiss singer Nemo won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with 'The Code,' an operatic ode to the singer’s journey toward embracing their nongender identity.
Biden calls Trump 'unhinged,' says 'something snapped' in former president after he lost 2020 U.S. election
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday called Donald Trump “clearly unhinged” and claimed that “something snapped” in the former president after he lost the 2020 election.
Israel orders new evacuations in Gaza's last refuge of Rafah as it expands military offensive
Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is considered Gaza’s last refuge.