New Arrival

This baby great horned owl was found on a golf course a few weeks ago. The nesting season for great horned owls is January and February. They don't build their own nests but take over abandoned nests of hawks, crows or squirrels. It's nearly impossible to return a baby owl to its nest, which are typically at the top of tall trees. Even if you could climb the tree, chances are the parents would attack you.

To lessen the danger of this owl imprinting on humans, we've put it in with a female great horned owl used for education programs. When we open the door to put food in its nest box, the baby flattens itself. It's a good sign it fears humans. Without that fear, it won't survive in the wild.

Squirrels and Rabies

Officials in Santa Monica, Calif., want to give squirrels birth control shots to stunt their sexual development, the Associated Press reported last week.
Experts have warned the city that a population boom among ground squirrels could increase the risk of rabies.
The ground squirrels in California are similar in appearance to our tree squirrels, except they burrow into the ground.
Our grey squirrels aren't likely to carry rabies, according to the National Center for Infectious Diseases.
Small rodents (such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, and chipmunks, ) and lagomorphs (such as rabbits and hares) are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States, they report on their Web site http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/ques&ans/q&a.htm#What%20is%20the%20risk%20of%20rabies%20from%20squirrels,%20mice,%20rats,%20and%20other%20rodents