Darke County Parks
New Animal Ambassadors begin educating at Park District 

Darke County Park District has recently acquired two new Animal Ambassadors; a Red-tailed Hawk and Great Horned Owl.  The Great Horned Owl, Greta, recently made her first appearance to the public.  This special introduction program began by educating the audience about the owls found in Ohio and the adaptations that owls have that make them so special!  After the presentation, Naturalist Robb Clifford, brought Greta out to show the group.  Greta was injured when hit by a truck and she cannot be released to the wild due to various injuries.  Now her job is to educate people on owls and raptors in general.  This is a truly unique opportunity to see a Great Horned Owl up close and personal and the Park District is very excited to be able to provide this to the people of Darke County.  

After learning about owls, the entire group headed outside, despite the chilly temperatures, for a short hike to call for owls.  The first call was an Eastern Screech Owl and several screech owls called back.  The group then moved into the woods and played a Great Horned Owl call and received at least one response.  Due to the fact that a pair of Great Horned Owls have nested at Shawnee Prairie Preserve the past several years, the calls were played and then the group retreated as to not cause undue stress to any potential nesting pair of owls.  

If you missed out on this opportunity to meet our new animal ambassadors, there will be more opportunities coming soon!  Check out our website at www.darkecountyparks.org for all of our upcoming programs.