From the Archives: The Great Horned Owl

Forty years ago, in 1986, Dr. Kathleen Ramsay founded a wildlife center that she called Las Aves. Eventually we became New Mexico Wildlife Center, and now we invite you to join us in celebrating our 40th anniversary!

Over the next several months, we will run a series of interviews and insights from the “originals” – board members, donors, administrators, staff, and volunteers, beginning with Dr. Ramsay and the story of Oscar the Great Horned Owl. Oscar was the first Ambassador Animal and was featured in the first issue of the Center’s first newsletter published in the Spring of 1991. The article includes the natural history of Great Horned Owls and Oscar’s unique journey. (Part of that journey later revealed that Oscar was a female, when she laid eggs many years later. It can be difficult to determine the sex of an owl.) Read the full article below.

Watch for our special 40th anniversary logo and keep an eye out for more 40th posts and events throughout the year that honor the history (and future) of NMWC.

View the archival newsletter article as a PDF here