DOC takes owl to zoo for rehabilitation

Hooter, the owl, is headed down a road that those who cared for it hope will lead to its release into the wild and long and happy life eating mice.

Scott Burger, district supervisor for protection with the Missouri Department of Conservation, took the barred owl that has been living at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital on and off for the past two weeks to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield on Wednesday.

“They have licensed rehab through us and they have the personnel and the equipment and the resources to take care of it,” Burger said. “They’ll probably look at it, probably give it some blood work, just give it a good checking out to make sure it’s healthy and try to rehab it so it can get back to its natural environment. That’s what we’re hoping for.”

Some of the patients and their family members say they’re going to miss their feathered friend.

“It was quite the object of conversation around here,” said Bob Teegarten, Carthage who is in the hospital for knee replacement surgery. “It’s nice to know it’s headed for Springfield. I thought it just flew away.”

Don Kittrell, grounds keeper at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital and Hooter’s primary caretaker for the past two weeks, said he called Burger after the owl flew out of the hospital’s central courtyard Monday night, but apparently had trouble sticking its landings.

Kittrell and Steve Schneickert, another hospital employee who originally found the barred owl on the side of a road, went out in the field northwest of the hospital and found the owl again after it flew off the roof of the Hospital.

“She was strong enough to fly, but it was obvious she couldn’t take care of herself,” Kittrell said. “We knew it was time for someone else to take over.”

Kittrell said he’s been live-trapping field mice on his farm and in the field behind the hospital to feed to Hooter.

Burger said federal law prohibits anyone from capturing and keeping raptors, but Kittrell and Schneickert called him and worked with him.

“I could tell they had the owl’s best interests at heart and they followed my instructions as to what to do with it,” Burger said. “They called us right off the bat and worked with us and did what was needed to help the owl get past whatever happened to it and I don’t have any problem with what they did.”

Burger said under normal circumstances he recommends that people stay away from wild animals that don’t flee from people.

“It just has no desire to fly or leave, it’s not scared and intimidated by people,” Burger said. “Most owls when I get them when they’re injured you can hold them and they won’t show a lot of fear. They might snap at you with their beak, and try to claw you, but if you put it down it would immediately try to move away, so it’s either been acclimated to people or it has some illness or something affecting its normal behavior. A lot of wild animals, if something is bothering them, they don’t act normal. That’s why we tell people if you see a raccoon or a skunk out in the daytime and not acting afraid, stay away, it’s not natural.”

Kittrell said the owl had an impact on the patients who got to see it.

“You just don’t know what this has done,” Kittrell said. “Patients are getting out of bed dragging tubes with them to come and see this owl.”

Valerie Harper, Sarcoxie, who was visiting a friend at the hospital on Monday, said she saw the owl fly off.

“That was awesome and she was so big,” Harper said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that big. Then to see her fly away, I had heard she was out there because she couldn’t fly, then when she took off it was so cool.”

Karen Boothe, Carthage, who’s husband is in the hospital, said she was surprised at how big the bird was.

“It was a big buzz around the hospital I know that,” Boothe said. “I’m sure it didn’t hurt anything to have something to take one’s mind off their illnesses. That’s a nice view of the courtyard anyway, it’s a natural setting.”

Fast fact:

Hooter is a barred owl, a large owl with brown vertical stripes that resemble bars on a jail cell. A barred owl is not to be confused with a barn owl, which is a smaller bird with a large heart-shaped white face.