Mowgli is a female Great Horned Owl that was accidentally mal-imprinted on humans by another rehabber. She was transferred to us to be an education ambassador. Because she is such a hard mal-imprint, she has attached herself to one of our volunteers. She believes him to be her mate and is jealous of his attention to other people or birds. This is a good example of the danger that can ensue from the release of a bird having this condition, however, while it is a shame that she cannot pursue her normal, wild life, she is relatively easy for him to handle and makes a wonderful education ambassador.
Mowgli was named for the little boy in The Jungle Book, as she was raised and greatly influenced by a species other than her own. Born in 2008, she is a very healthy and large owl, having been fed quality food and vitamins ever since she was a hatchling.
Great Horned Owls are called the “Tigers of the Sky” – they are strong warriors that are the only natural enemy of skunks. GHOs live near the edges of open spaces such as fields and prairies. They are open area hunters and are adaptable to climate, living from the Arctic down through temperate climates all the way to the furthest tip of South America. We sometimes refer to GHOs as the 18-wheelers of the raptor world. Their talons can deliver 450 pounds of pressure per square inch!