Mr. Pickelsimer "Mr. P"Barred Owl
Strix varia
Mr. Pickelsimer "Mr. P"
Barred Owl
Strix varia
Even though physically fit, Mr. Pickelsimer never had a chance to experience life as a wild owl. Over fourteen years ago when he was still a young owlet, Mr. P was taken from his natural habitat by an unlicensed person and illegally kept in captivity for many years. The saddest cases are those like Mr. P's, where people attempt to raise young wild birds without knowing anything about their unique developmental needs.
As a result of this mishandling, Mr. P became imprinted on people and never learned the necessary skills to survive on his own in the wild. Once imprinted on humans, a bird will exhibit uncharacteristic behavior and will become socially unacceptable to wild members of its own species. Wild birds are able to sense an imprinted bird's lack of instincts, and this often results in physical harm to the imprinted bird, as wild populations will often attack the imprint.
Imprinting occurs when a young bird is learning methods of behavior. As baby birds grow older, they narrow the range of objects from which they will learn and begin to identify with whomever, or whatever, is teaching them. Because Mr. P learned from humans, he began to identify with them, and no longer understood that he was a Barred Owl.
Mr. P is quite sociable and seems to enjoy traveling to offsite presentations. Comfortable on the glove assisting with education programs, he is often happy to demonstrate the "who cooks for you, who cooks for you all" call typical of his species. A common species throughout Central Florida, Mr. Pickelsimer's presence is in high demand as people enjoy an up close and personal encounter with a bird they rarely see and usually only hear.
If Mr. P get hungry before dinnertime, he has been known to make a snack of one or two of the many lizard-like anoles or snakes that occasionally make the mistake of wandering into his mew.
Mr. P is named for a 7th grade history teacher who felt the education process was successful if students left class with even one important bit of knowledge they would remember forever. The one important bit of knowledge to forever remember from Mr. Pickelsimer's story is that wild animals belong in the wild! Although unable to enjoy a life of freedom, Mr. P can teach us this very valuable lesson. Perhaps his biggest contribution to wildlife will be to insure that his sad story will never be repeated.
Mr. P can be sponsored through the Adopt-a-Bird program.
Call 407-461-1056 or e-mail info@adoptabird.org for details
on how you can make Mr. P a part of your family!
