Mama "Ge-HO"

As one of her adoptive young flies safely to the far end of the flight pen, the other sidles over to Mama “Ge-HO” who stares down the human intruders who stand in the middle of what has become her domain.

She voices a clicking sound which seems to serve as a warning.

“‘Ge-HO’ stands for G H O which is short for great horned owl,” explains Dr. Dave McRuer, a veterinary resident with the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

The female owl came to the center in 2001.

Deemed unreleasable because of injuries to her leg, she remained as a resident bird ever since.

“She’s a great surrogate mother,” says McRuer. “She’s an excellent surrogate for little ones that come in this time of year.”

Earlier in the spring, two baby great horned owls were brought to the wildlife center in Waynesboro. One was found in the Martinsville area while the other was found in the Roanoke area.

“Normally when you find an owl, the best thing is to leave them alone as the parents will continue to feed them,” says McRuer.”

“Unless it’s a high traffic, public area,” he adds, “or there are a lot of predators.

At least one of the two young ones currently under the care of Mama “Ge-HO” was brought to the center after being found on a golf course – a high traffic and very public area.

But why give them an adoptive owl mother instead of allowing humans to raise them?

“She will teach them how to be a great horned owl,” says McRuer.

“Big, mean, and cranky,” he adds with a laugh.

“They are very aggressive birds,” he explains seriously, “very powerful birds.”

Contact with the young owls is kept to a minimum to keep the great birds from becoming imprinted by human presence.

“If you aren’t careful, they will come to think of humans as owls,” explains McRuer. “If that happens, they could very well attack humans when out in the wild.”

If that were to happen, it would occur because the Great Horned would be defending its territory as it would from a competing owl or other raptor.

The great horned owl is one of the most fearless of the raptors and will even kill skunks and porcupines. As a result, they are sometimes called the “Flying Tiger.”

In the fight pen, the two fledgling owls remain close to their adult role model.

The clicking sound returns, but this time it comes from one of the young ones and not the surrogate mother.

“That’s a good sign,” McRuer comments. “It means they’re learning from her.”

As demonstrated earlier, the young owls have already begun learning to fly.

“They’re flighted as of this week,” says McRuer. “Once they have all their adult feathers in and have proven they can consistently catch live prey, they will be released.”

It is estimated that the pair will be returned to the wild in another one to two months.

As for Mama “Ge-HO,” officials at the wildlife center believe she has been a surrogate mother for an estimated 7 to 10 fledglings.

“She really is a good mother,” comments McRuer.

--- Mike Tripp, photojournalist

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Originally published Saturday, May 12, 2007, at FourWindsLodge.net.