This spring Mama G’Ho, a Great Horned Owl that is a permanent resident of the Wildlife Center, is serving as a surrogate mother and role model for four owlets – believed to be a record single-season “caseload” for this experienced surrogate. 

Mama G'Ho

Mama G’Ho came to the Wildlife Center from Henrico County, Virginia in December 2001.  She had sustained injuries to her feet and wings, likely after she was struck by a vehicle.  Despite rehabilitation, Mama G’Ho never regained her ability to fly silently, which is critical to the hunting success of owls in the wild.

Although Mama G’Ho is unable to return to the wild herself, she plays a very important role as a surrogate mother for young, orphaned Great Horned Owls admitted to the Center each spring. After an initial examination and treatment, young owlets are moved into Mama G’Ho’s enclosure, where she helps them hone their hunting abilities and develop natural owl behaviors.  This training, and the wariness to humans Mama G’Ho helps reinforce, increase these owlets’ chances to survive, and thrive, on their own in the wild.

 This spring, Mama G’Ho is sharing a pen with two Great Horned owlets; two additional Great Horned owlets are housed in an adjoining pen, where they can easily see and hear Mama G’Ho.  The four owlets are:

 
* #09-231, admitted on April 4 from Franklin.  This owlet may have been blown from its nest during a wind storm.  [Animals admitted to the Center are given sequential patient numbers – in the order in which they are admitted.  Patient #09-231 was the 231st patient admitted to the Center during 2009.  Thus far in 2009, the Center has admitted more than 600 patients.];

* #09-317, admitted on April 13 from the Charlottesville area.  This owlet was found by the side of a road;

* #09-345, admitted on April 18 from Roanoke.  This owlet was found near North Forks Road; and

* #09-356, admitted on April 20 from Hanover County.  This owlet was picked up by an animal control officer.
       

This summer, these young owls should be ready to make it on their own in the wild.  The Center hopes to release each of these owls back near its original home.  

Every year, about 2,500 animals – ranging from Bald Eagles to chipmunks – are brought to the Wildlife Center for care.  During 2008, for example, the Center treated a total of 27 Great Horned Owls, mostly adult birds.  

Through the Wildlife Center’s Caring for Critters program, individuals may adopt Mama G’Ho or any of about two dozen other resident animals at the Center.  A Caring for Critters sponsorship – the perfect birthday, or graduation gift – helps support the feeding and care of the Center’s resident animals and patients.  Sponsors receive:

* The sponsored animal’s biography;

* A photo of the animal;

* Detailed information about the characteristics of the animal’s species; and

* A personalized certificate of sponsorship.

The Wildlife Center of Virginia is an internationally acclaimed teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine.  Since its founding in 1982, the nonprofit Center has cared for more than 50,000 wild animals, representing 200 species of native birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.  The Center’s public education programs share insights gained through the care of injured and orphaned wildlife, in hopes of reducing human damage to wildlife.  The Center trains veterinary and conservation professionals from all over the world and is actively involved in comprehensive wildlife health studies and the surveillance of emerging diseases.