HOUSTON, Minn. – The newest resident at the International Owl Center is a 7-week-old burrowing owl named Bea. The Kansas-hatched owl has completed a week of quarantine She’s the first new resident in four years. Her mates:
> JR. An eastern screech owl.
> Piper. An American barn owl.
> Ruby. A great horned owl.
> Uhu. A Eurasian eagle owl.
Because burrowing owls are an endangered species in Minnesota, a special state permit was required for Bea in to immigrate, as well as federal permits. Bea’s parents are non-releasable wild owls from Kansas who were bred in captivity, said Karka Bloem, director of the Owl Center.
Burrowing owl profile
Burrowing owls are the only species that nests underground. They depend on badgers, prairie dogs and other burrowing mammals for nests. Insects are a large part of their diet. As a species, their survival iis threatened by insecticides and vanishing prairie lands.
Tiny and busy. Bea, who weighs ounces, pounces on toys, sleeps standing on one leg or face-planted on the bottom of her enclosure, cranks her head sideways and upside down, eats throughout the day, and enjoys eyeing human visitors.