Artemis

Name: Greek Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon
Date in: 2/22/93
Hatched: November 1992
Gender: Male
Age at arrival: 4 months
Came from: Lousiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo

Story: Artemis was misnamed; because of his high weight we believed he was a female. His nest tree was cut down in Monroe, Louisiana, and the six chicks in the tree were taken to the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo. All six were raised together, but the smallest two were severely socialized. Artemis was one of these two. He was not imprinted, but he cannot hunt or take care of himself. Artemis was advertised in a non-releasable placement program that was intended to help restock Barn Owls in other parts of the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife determined that he would be of more benefit here as an education bird than if he was released.

In the spring of 1994 he called in a female mate, at which time he was correctly identified as a male. Artemis was released with the wild female but returned five days later, begging for food. It was determined that he was unable to care for or feed himself or his mate. In the spring of 1996 he successfully fostered four barn owl chicks. The following summer in 1997 he successfully raised two chicks that fell from their nest cavity in Danville, KY. In 1998 only one Barn Owl chick was admitted for Artemis to foster. All seven of the chicks he raised were released back into the wild.

In 1999 several new nesting spots were discovered in the area, but Artemis did not get the opportunity to foster any young.

The breeding season of 2000 brought unbelievable events at RROKI. The first inkling of a different season was when we received 5 Barn Owl chicks from Bourbon County on June 2. The smallest of these "ugly" babies weighed only 64 grams. That’s just slightly more then 2 ounces. July 13 brought yet another four orphaned chicks after lightening destroyed their nest site near Bowling Green, Kentucky. Nine Barn Owl babies in one season was an incredible event. Could Artemis pull off feeding so many mouths even though the mice were being delivered to his door? But we were not yet done admitting Barn Owl owlets. On August 16 Barn Owl chick number 10 was admitted from Mt. Washington. Artemis raised an incredible 10 chicks in the summer of 2000. He is now classified as a SUPERDAD, and he was so protective of his young charges that he would attack anyone entering his cage, dive-bombing people until they left. All RROKI volunteers had to wear protective helmets with face shields while dealing with Artemis.

Even after raising so many babies, Artemis was in for an even more important role at RROKI. One of the owlets that he raised in 2000 had a slightly deformed foot that would prevent her from perching well and catching her own food in the wild. We kept the young female and applied for a breeding permit because Barn Owls are a species of special concern in Kentucky. We received one, and in the spring of 2001, Artemis and Lucrecia laid seven eggs. Five hatched and three foster children from around the state arrived. The new couple successfully raised all eight chicks, and they will be released in pairs near nest boxes that they will hopefully use to raise young of their own.