Otis the owl turns 21

The Medicine River Wildlife Centre’s educational owl Otis turned 21 on May 15.   

Otis was brought into the wildlife centre when he was between three and five days old, his eyes were closed, and he was orphaned and injured.   

“He was found nowhere near trees, so he didn't just fall out of the nest. We suspect that he was plucked out of his nest by a predator who then flew and accidentally dropped him by not having a good enough grip on him,” said Carol Kelly, Medicine River Wildlife Centre Executive Director.  

Otis was cold, he had bruising on his chest, and internal bleeding.   

“We began treating him and then as his eyes began to open, we knew at that point we had to make a decision because we don't usually let our animals get friendly with people,” Kelly said.  

At the time, the centre needed an educational animal and was getting many requests from schools to bring an owl to programs.   

“We made the decision to allow him to become friendly with people and we would raise him to be an educational animal,” Kelly said.  

She explained that when an animal's eyes open, whatever they see, they believe is their parent feeding them.   

“He automatically thought he was a human,” she said. “There's no actual training, it’s just allowing him to be friendly with people.”  

It’s not common for the centre to keep educational animals, and Kelly makes a point to ensure any babies that are being treated do not get friendly with people.  

“Every baby we get in, we never allow them to see us feeding them, so that the animals are never accustomed to people. I'm very, very picky about that,” Kelly said. “But with Otis, we allowed him to see us, and that's why he's so comfortable.”  

When Otis first started doing educational programs, he would visit schools, leaving a lasting impact on the students.   

“Kids see so many videos and pictures, but to see a live animal and look into the eyes of that live animal, they absolutely remember that experience and pay attention,” Kelly said. “That experience stays with them for a long, long time.”  

Now Otis travels with Kelly doing programs at seniors' residences.  

“He can live easily until he's 40 in captivity. So, we should have him doing programs with us for a very long time,” Kelly said.