A Zoo/Institution where I could interct hands-on with owls?

[maborosi]

Hi, AA

I was wondering if anyone on here knew of an institution in TX that allows people to interact with owls, or could give me an idea of somewhere that would.
The reason I'm asking is on behalf of a friend of mine, who has a terminal illness (lymphoma), and only has a few months to live.

One of the things she said she wants to do before she dies is to get to see/hold an owl, because they're her favorite animals.

I sincerely apologize if this isn't the right forum ^^; I figured I might be able to get a few pointers and starting places if I asked around.

~maborosi~

 

[patdbunny]

Contact a falconer and inquire. I think falconry requires licensing in most states. If this is the case in TX, then the state fish and wildlife or whoever issues falconry licenses should be able to give you a contact list of falconers/master falconers.

I knew of someone in my area who was a master falconer and was also licensed to hunt with an owl.

Or you could try a wildlife rehabber.
Or you could try an owl leg bander.

I think you can find a list of those people also through the same agency that licenses falconers.

 

[Nelson & Gang]

My suggestion would also be to try a local zoo or wildlife rehabber. You might want to keep in mind though that rehabbers and the like only handle these birds when & if they HAVE to. Unless they have one that came in to their facility when young & could not be released back to the wild ~ the bird will likely be wild and not handleable.

Most do not like to have human imprinting on wild creatures such as that. Good luck to you in your search for this. My thoughts are w/ your friend.