Meet Merlin, a Western Screech Owl found here in Sitka, Alaska, after getting tangled in a net. After a week in our clinic, Merlin was ready to head back out into the wild!
Despite its small size, the Western Screech-Owl is a predator to be reckoned with! It occasionally takes prey bigger than its own body, including cottontail rabbits. At other times they’ve been seen eating bats, insects and earthworms, which they collect from rainy roads and even compost piles.
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The Alaska Raptor Center, located in Sitka Alaska, provides medical treatment for over 200 injured bald eagles and other birds each year. Our goal is to release our patients back into the wild; some, however, are injured so severely they could not survive in the wild even after rehabilitation. These birds may join our Raptors-in-Residence, providing excitement and education for more than 80,000 annual visitors and for the 15,000 schoolchildren we reach through the Adopt-a-raptor program and classroom presentations around the country.
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Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlaskaRaptorCenter/
Website: www.AlaskaRaptor.org
