‘Fierce Hunter, Small Package’

After a car crash, Artemis the owl finds a second life as an animal ambassador

Artemisโ€™ story is similar to those of many of Wesselman Woods Nature Preserveโ€™s 23 animal ambassadors.

The male Eastern Screech Owl โ€“ native to Indiana โ€“ escaped with a broken wing after being hit by a car in Phelps County, Missouri. Rehab began at the University of Missouriโ€™s College of Veterinary Medicine Raptor Rehabilitation Project in Columbia, Missouri, on Nov. 7, 2020.

Photo by Adin Parks

Elaine Kung, Wesselman Woodsโ€™ wildlife curator and educator, explains that Artemis has fared better than many of his peers.โ€œSo many of them go blind in at least one eye afterward,โ€ she explains. โ€œTheir skulls are so thin, and everything around there is just so delicate.โ€

Though he kept his sight, rehab could not repair the soft tissue in his right wing, leaving him flightless. UoM sought a permanent home after determining Artemis could not live in-dependently in the wild. Wesselman Woods expressed interest, and he be-came a resident animal ambassador in Evansville on Dec. 16, 2021.

โ€œWe really want a good representation of our native animals here because there is just so much more edu-cation that can be done on that front,โ€ Kung says.

Today he lives at Wesselman Woodsโ€™ Nature Center with five fellow bird ambassadors. His exact age is unknown, but Kung estimates he could be as young as 4 or as old as 15. The life span for Easter Screech Owls typically is 10 years, but they can live up to 20 years in captivity.

This small owl eats a typical diet of mice, and his cage has a dense set-up of strategically placed perch-es, branches, and ramps to help him move around. Upon arrival, he had to learn how to interact with people and get used to a crate. He also was trained to step up onto the leather glove handlers wear.

โ€œWhen we did first get him, he was still on a learning curve in trying to figure out what his new physical restrictions were. It was sad to watch him because … flying is falling for him,โ€ Kung says.

Heโ€™s settled into his role nicely and often appears in elementary school classrooms, summer camps, and on Wesselman Woodsโ€™ social media. Kung describes Artemis as an introvert, add-ing that as cute and small as he is โ€“ only about 4.9-5.3 ounces โ€“ his species is not a fan of cuddles or pets.

Compared to his fellow avian ambassadors, โ€œheโ€™s probably the easiest one to handle,โ€ Kung says, attributing that to Eastern Screech Owlsโ€™ nature. โ€œTheyโ€™re not super flighty, pokey, or inquisitive. Their go-to is stealth and camouflage, so heโ€™s comfortable sitting in one spot.โ€

Despite his diminutive and calm nature, Artemis should not be underestimated.

โ€œFor their size, Eastern Screech Owls do have pretty strong feet,โ€ Kung adds. โ€œFierce hunter, small package.โ€

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Maggie Valenti
Maggie Valenti
Maggie Valenti joined Tucker Publishing Group in September 2022 as a staff writer. She graduated from Gettysburg College in 2020 with a bachelors degree in English. A Connecticut native, Maggie has ridden horses for 15 years and has hunt seat competition experience on the East Coast.

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