From Upper Schuylkill Valley Park

We are excited to introduce you to our newest resident, Archie the Barred Owl!

Archie arrived to us yesterday afternoon all the way from Lake Erie Nature & Science Center located in Ohio. He is around 3 years old!

His story is sad and one that could have been prevented. He was found as a young chick and illegally raised and kept by a member of the public. He has no fear of humans and does not know how to properly be an owl. Due to this, he was deemed to be non- releasable, as he would not be successful in the wild.

The important lesson in his story is that if you find abandoned or orphaned wildlife, contact your local wildlife rehab. They have the know-how to raise and rehabilitate wildlife so that they can have a successful life and release. Do not attempt to raise wildlife on your own. While Archie’s story is unfortunate, we hope that he will help bring awareness as to why it is always important to contact your local rehab center when you find wildlife that needs help.

We are very happy to have Archie join us at the park; he is settling in and we hope you can visit him soon!

I can’t wait to meet him! Every time I visit here, I’ve been sad Hooties pen was still empty. (Hootie was seriously around 30 years old, near blind, and only had one wing. He was one tough Barred Owl!). Hootie’s been gone for about a year and a half I think, so I’m glad they’ve finally found a new owl in need of a home.