- Barn Owl, "Luna"
- Tyto alba
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- Luna
is a female barn owl. She stands about 16 inches tall and weighs
500 grams, approximately one pound. She has a white, heart-shaped
facial disc, while most other owls have a round facial-disc.
At our Wild Classroom outreach programs, students have compared
the barn owl's body feathers, which are a beautiful golden color
with grey specs, to lightly toasted marshmellows or a lemon poppy
seed muffin.
In 2003, while likely hunting for rodents
along a dark country road near Tallahassee, Luna was the unfortunate
victim of an automobile collision. Each year, St. Francis Wildlife
receives hundreds of nocturnal animals who are temporarily blinded
and confused by a vehicle's approaching headlights or just fly
too low over a road in focused pursuit of their prey.
Luna's left wing was badly fractured and permanently disabled.
Her left eye also suffered damage that left it blind. After several
weeks of TLC in our animal hospital, it was decided that she
would become part of our Wild Classroom education program and
replace Alba, our beloved blind barn owl, who died in April 2004
after being with us for 16 years.
Luna now travels to schools and takes part in public outreach
events to teach people about our beautiful barn owls and about
the dangers that all nocturnal animals -- owls, raccoons, opossums,
rabbits, and foxes -- face on the roads at night from speeding
cars.
One way to help these animals is to watch out for their shining
eyes reflecting your car's bright headlights, to drive slowly
and dim your lights if you do see an animal on the road so that
she can fly or run back to safety and continue to live wild and
free!
* Photo of Luna taken by
Carl Tinsley in front of an old barn at Birdsong Nature Center,
www.ctinsley.com.
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