About our Animals

Those of you who have seen us conduct programs know that we view our education animals as valuable education tools, ambassadors for their wild cousins. They are NOT pets and we never treat them as such. However, for purposes of our Adopt-an-Animal sponsorship program, we have given each of our education animals a name. We find that children, in particular, would rather sponsor "Scarlet," for example, than "the female Red-tailed hawk." With this in mind, we'd like to introduce you to our "Cast of Characters."

Hiboux Deux the Great Horned Owl

Hibou Deux, which is French for Owl 2, is a small male Great Horned Owl.
Hibou Deux was infected with the West Nile virus in the summer of 2002. Even though he was fortunate to survive the virus, he suffers permanent partial paralysis of his left wing.

Athena the Great Horned Owl

This is Athena, our female great horned owl. Named for the Greek myth that Athena the Goddess could transform herself into an owl. Athena lives with Hibou Deux and suffers from neurological symptoms brought on by either a head injury or West Nile virus.

Otus the Screech Owl

Otus came to us from the Back to the Wild wildlife rehabilitation facility in Castalia, Ohio after it was determined that he was non-releasable due to being struck by a car. Otus, named after his scientific name Otus Asio, is a male, grey Eastern screech owl.

Dru the Screech Owl

Dru was in a tree with his two siblings when a tree cutter cut down the tree. Unfortunately, he suffered irreparable damage to his wing and is unable to fly. Dru comes from the word Druid meaning wisdom and oak tree. His two siblings were placed in a nest box, reunited with their parents, and eventually fledged.

Oz the Barred Owl

Oz came to us all the way from Kansas. He is a male Barred owl who has a missing toe on one foot and a wing injury that not only prevents flight, but prevents the proper growth of some of his primary feathers. His injuries were sustained from being caught in a soccer net.

Ebony the Black Rat Snake

Black rat snakes are native to Ohio. Ebony was found in Fairfield County, Ohio in somebody's bedroom, hiding in the sleeve of a leather jacket. He was rescued and given to Ohio Nature Education by Bill Huffman, a former ONE board member and an expert herpetologist.

Rusty and Ruby the Red Rat Snakes

While not native to Ohio, the red rat snake is closely related to Ohio's black rat snake and to our own Ebony. These two are larger and friendlier and will be able to give Ebony some much needed time off.

Echo, Radar, Luna and Tes the Big Brown Bats

Echo and Radar are two male Big Brown Bats that were donated to us from the Bat Lab at OSU run by Dr. Mitch Masters. Radar is permanently injured and echo was orphaned at a very young age.
Luna is a female Big Brown Bat who found her way to Ohio Nature Education in the spring of 1998. Only two days old, she was discovered by a wildlife rehabilitator in Licking County, Ohio. It appeared she had fallen off of her mother. Her eyes were still closed and she was covered with peach fuzz-like fur, not to mention her umbilical cord was still attached. She was raised by one of the ONE staff who has the appropriate training and permits to raise orphaned bats.
Though Luna is able to fly, she is not releasable. Wild bats are taught by their mothers to "echolocate," or find hibernicula (places to hibernate.) Luna does not have this vital training, however she serves as an important ambassador because she teaches people that bats are amazing, highly beneficial creatures.
Tes came to us with a wing injury. We are not sure what the cause of this injury was, but she is unable to maintain flight and is, therefore, unsuitable to be released back into the wild.

Igor the Turkey Vulture

Igor is a permanently injured turkey vulture. Despite the name, Igor is a female. She was found in the spring of 2001 wandering around the grounds of Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Upon further inspection it was discovered that Igor had a detached retina in her left eye and an old healed fracture in her left wing. She is currently being featured in our Birds of Prey, Animals We Love to Hate, and Wildlife as Meteorologists programs.

Aurora the Fox

Aurora is a female fox, not native to Ohio. Her mother is a red and silver fox and her father is a Scandinavian silver fox. In appearance, Aurora resembles a mix of our native grey fox and the silver phase of the red fox. Since Aurora is not considered to be native wildlife, and is therefore not protected by wildlife laws, she was purchased at a swap meet to be a pet. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, she did not make a good pet and was given to Ohio Nature Education for our education programs. Since foxes are adept both at climbing and digging, Aurora's kennel has both a top and a bottom panel. Her name is derived from the Native American folklore belief that the fox brings the Aurora Borealis, or northern lights.

Lolo the Fox

This is Lolo, a silver phased red fox. Lolo is another unwanted wildlife "pet" who was also raised on a fur farm. She is two years old and because she has more energy than Aurora, we sometimes close the door between their two cages to give them a "time out."

Kit the Red Fox

Picked up by a well-intentioned person out of a barn, Kit was too habituated to humans by the time Ohio Nature Education was able to get him. He now lives with Lolo and Aurora.

Stu the Opossum

Stu was in his mother's pouch when she was attacked by a dog. Stu was very slow to develop and was the "runt" of the litter, making him a poor candidate for release.

Marsi the Opossum

Marsi's mother was hit by a car while Marsi was in her pouch. As a result, Marsi suffered permanent damage, making her a poor candidate for release.

Amelia & Houdini the Flying Squirrels

Amelia is a southern flying squirrel who came to us from a wildlife rehabilitator. She was orphaned when a cat attacked her mom and litter mates. She came to us at four weeks of age when her eyes were still closed. Amelia required mammal formula feedings via syringe four to five times per day. Now she is feasting on seeds, fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Houdini, named for his great skill as an escape artist, is a male southern flying squirrel. With the purchase of a new cage, Ohio Nature Education has been able to keep Houdini under wraps. He was left on a wildlife rehabilitator's doorstep with an anonymous note asking the rehabilitator to care for their "pet." Unfortunately, as is true with all wild animals, Houdini was unsuitable to be a pet, however, because humans raised him, he is also unsuited to life in the wild.

Falco the American Kestrel

In March, 2002, Mr. and Mrs. Van traveled to the Back to the Wild rehabilitation facility in Castalia, Ohio to bring home some birds from Back to the Wild. While there, we "adopted" a permanently injured, non-releasable male American Kestrel. The kestrel was born in 2001 and, while a fledgling, was caught by a cat and suffered permanent tendon and nerve damage. We have named him Falco since he is not only a member of the falcon family, but the smallest member.

Kiki the American Kestrel

Introducing Kiki, our female American kestrel. Kiki, who joined us in the Spring of 2004, is named for the "call" that the kestrel makes. She is suffering from an irreparable wing injury, and, therefore, cannot survive in the wild.

Yipes! Stripes the Striped Knee Tarantula

While we attempt to keep our education animals to native Ohio species, this Striped Knee Tarantula was purchased for our Spiders program as well as our Animals We Love to Hate program.

Rose the Chilean Rose Haired Tarantula

This is Rose, our Chilean rose haired tarantula. Again, though tarantulas are not native to Ohio, they are awesome tools for teaching about the benefits of spiders.

Charlotte the Striped Knee Tarantula

Charlotte is a striped knee tarantula that we purchased. These spiders are native to Brazil, Trinidad, Martinique, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Venezuela, and throughout the Amazon Basin. Charlotte helps us in programs such as Animals We Love To Hate.

Tank & Shelldon the Eastern Box Turtles

Meet Tank, a male Eastern box turtle. Tank was confiscated as part of the illegal pet trade. He loves the summer when he can live outdoors.
This species is native to Africa, but Sheldon was another unwanted pet. Not only is he part of our Reptile & Amphibian program, but Sheldon also helps us teach about responsible pet ownership.

Scarlet the Red-Tailed Hawk

Scarlet is a female red-tailed hawk who we believe collided with a car. As a result, she suffered injuries to both of her shoulders, making her non-releasable.

Bella the Red-Tailed Hawk

Bella is a female red-tailed hawk who came to us from the Columbus Airport area with a wing injury. We received a call from Angela Miller at the Senior Times reporting that they'd been observing a downed hawk on their property for a few days. They'd made calls to several agencies but had heard nothing back until they reached us through one of our vets.
An examination of the hawk revealed no apparent fractures, but she was rather thin and was having difficulty flying. Sadly, Bella never improved her ability to fly and could not be released, so she now lives with Scarlet, and, during the summer months, with Igor the Turkey Vulture.

Oreo and Domino the Striped Skunks

Orphaned at a young age and kept too long by someone with good intentions, these skunks were too "habituated" to humans to be released back into the wild.

Edgar and Velcrow the American Crows

Edgar, for Edgar Allen Crow of course, came to us imprinted. He'd been raised illegally by someone who found him when he was young. We tried to help him regain his natural fear of humans by placing him with our own Velcrow. Unfortunately, he still greets us at the aviary door and will eat out of our hands, therefore he is non-releasable and will be incorporated into programs and keep Velcrow company.
Velcrow suffers from a permanent wing injury and has found his home with Ohio Nature Education. As a clear demonstration as to how smart the crow species is, Velcrow often loves to hide various items throughout his cage.

Copyright ©2003-08 David J. Francis