Tex

Name: Named Tex because he came from Texas
Date in: 9/18/98
Hatched: July 1998
Gender: Male, because of his arrival weight of 110 grams
Age at arrival: Approximately 3 months
Came from: South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, (SPWRC) in Lubbock, Texas.

Story: Tex was found as a downy chick on a Texas road by a private citizen and raised as a pet. While this was not only illegal, it was not in the bird’s best interest. The finders gave Tex an inappropriate diet of earthworms and scrambled eggs, while a healthy, normal diet would consist of beetles, scorpions, lizards, small snakes, and small rodents. After Tex lost his novelty for the finders, they turned him in to SPWRC. But for Tex it was too late; he could never have a normal life because he was imprinted on humans. Tex not only would have been unable to identify with Burrowing Owls, but he would have been rejected and possibly killed by wild Burrowing Owls. Because they are very communal, they will not accept an intruder into their colonies. The nationwide networking of rehabbers allowed SPWRC to locate Tex a permanent home at RROKI as an education bird. A RROKI volunteer took a weekend to drive 2600 miles to bring him to us.