Help Minnesota’s The Raptor Center Name 2 New Baby Ambassadors

The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota recently announced that two new baby great horned owls have joined their team of educational ambassadors. While this was certainly exciting news, there was one small problem.

While the owls are a welcome addition, and will most certainly provide inspiration for years to come, they currently don't have names.

To rectify that situation, the Raptor Center reached out to the public to help name each owl and name suggestions are now being accepted. Before you submit your names, it may be best to get to know each owl better.

Get To Know The New Owls

The Raptor Center provided background information on each owl.

Owl #1

This young great horned, who they suspect is female, came to The Raptor Center in May after venturing out of the nest. She was admitted to their hospital with small but stable cataracts in both eyes, a condition commonly caused by trauma like taking a big fall out of the nest. She also had two fractures, one in each of her wings, that have since healed.

While she is in great physical shape after having her fractures healed, the vision impairment of cataracts prevents her from being an effective huntress in the wild, making her unfit for release.

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Her personality and temperament are gentle and sweet, which are promising qualities for a potential future ambassador. She has quickly taken to working with education staff and has shown an eagerness to participate and learn.

Owl #2

The Raptor Center says it received a call in late March about a very young male baby owl that had fallen from the nest. The bird had internal trauma and bruising and had also damaged the left eye. Thankfully, the owl arrived at its hospital in time for their expert staff to prevent life-threatening complications.

Their veterinarians successfully removed his injured eye and the staff was able to nurse him back to good health. However, one eye would not allow him to survive and thrive in the wild, so they evaluated a different way to offer him a second chance.

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Staff quickly noticed his curiosity and willingness to participate in new things. While they do not want wild owls to socialize with humans, this little one continued to show interest in meeting and interacting with staff members, making him an excellent candidate for an education ambassador.

Submit Name Suggestions For Each Owl

Not that you know a bit about each owl, what do you think their names should be? Everyone is invited to submit name suggestions now through Friday, July 12.

Then, they will select a list of finalists for the public to vote on starting July 15th and ending July 17th at midnight. The juvenile owls' new names will be announced on Thursday, July 18th.

You can click the button above to get more information on The Raptor Center and the new owls and to submit name suggestions.