Cupid was hatched on February 14th, 2012 in one of the Propagation Department mews in the Sunnen Building. His hatch date, fluffy white down, and striking heart-shaped face inspired the name Cupid.
When Cupid turned five days old, Roger Wallace, WBS’s propagation coordinator, gently took him out of his parents’ nest and transferred him to a brooder box. This box keeps the bird warm, like its real mother would, until it is big enough and has a thick, downy coat to keep itself warm. Some of Cupid’s nest mates remained in the nest to be raised by the parents. Those birds will have minimal contact with humans and will be released into suitable barn owl habitat when they are old enough.
Cupid was removed from the nest at such a young age in order to accustom him to humans. When Cupid becomes an adult, he will fly in World Bird Sanctuary Education programs as an ambassador for his species, and will help to educate the public about the threats to his wild cousins that have caused them to be put on the endangered species list in some states here in the U.S. He will need to be handled by, and fly around humans every day. That is why we want Cupid to not have fear of humans.
I am outraged that a place that calls itself a "Sanctuary" would take away a completely healthy barn owlet from its parents and siblings just for educational purposes, this is so sad to me. I would much rather be educated about owls with organized nature walks then to see a purposely human imprinted owl sitting on a perch with jesses straps on its legs , or eating a mouse from a gloved hand.
I will no longer feature news from the WorldBirdSanctuary.