Heart-shaped face, puppy-like tendencies: Meet the barn owl at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Hoosier, a barn owl with a gorgeous, snowy heart-shaped face, also is a puppy at heart.

On a frigid late winter morning at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the 15-year-old owl has checked off a couple of his daily husbandry tasks, including getting on a scale so keepers can make sure he stays at a good weight — today he’s roughly 2 1/2 pounds — and getting in a crate, to practice for the days he heads out to events, schools and other dates.

He likes those days, says his animal care manager and trainer Kevin Pellow: “He gets lots of snacks for just being beautiful.”

But Hoosier’s true love, besides the meese’s pieces, what Pellow calls the chopped up bits of mice he carries in a cup hooked to his waist, is dog toys. Ropes, tennis balls, the famous red KONGs.

“He plays with them. Sometimes he snuggles with them,” Pellow said. “Sometimes he just hangs out. Other times he shreds them to pieces.”

After his chores are accomplished this morning and he’s entertained visitors by landing on their gloved forearm, Pellow hands him a rainbow-colored rope toy and he immediately flies up onto a ledge, clutching the toy in one of his claws. He mantles it, meaning he uses his wings to shield his prize from others who might want to steal it away. Birds do it in the wild with the prey they’ve nabbed.

“He’s picked some stuff up that’s about 2 pounds before,” Pellow said.

“He can only carry it short distances, but he can get it up into the tree.”

What’s this handsome devil like?

Hoosier’s a curious though not impetuous soul. He’s an explorer who takes his time. When keepers give him a new piece of enrichment he’ll gaze at it from afar for a bit before investigating. He’s not afraid, but he’s also not going to go all in right away. He’s a smart fellow, says Pellow, and can figure out new tasks and tricks pretty quickly.

How’d he get here?

Hatched in 2008 at the Scovill Zoo in Illinois, his mom booted him from the nest at about five months, an average time for a baby bird to begin exploring the world on his own, and he soon arrived at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, his intended home.

How long do barn owls live?

About 10 years in the wild, 20 to 25 in human care. Right now, the oldest barn owl under human care in North America is 26.

Stealthy bird machines

Thanks to wings that hook together like Velcro, barn owls can move silently through the night as they stalk prey.

“When he opens his wings, the feathers stick off one another so they can open and close together,” Pellow said. “As he flaps his wings, it softens the air around it so you can’t hear the air passing by. If they’re hunting at night, as they tend to do, you don’t hear anything above you until they’re on top of you.”

Can I see one of those heart-shaped faces in the wild?

You’ve got a decent chance, as barn owls can be found on every continent minus Antarctica. They like cavities, so nooks and crannies in trees. They’re more adaptable than other birds, and have figured out how to live alongside humans in cities. For the iceberg days in Colorado, when temperatures hover at zero or dip into the negatives, Hoosier has a heated cave he likes to crash in. Otherwise, he’s OK outside in the cold.

Are barn owls afraid of anything?

Their only natural predator is the great horned owl, in a creepy owls eating other owls kind of way. Great horned owls are quite a bit bigger than barn owls, so when you see the latter in flight it’s likely because they’ve found their food and are flying off to hide and dine.

Eagles could also be their predator, but they sleep during the night when barn owls are most active. And, being true to their name, barn owls love a good barn, particularly because great horned owls don’t.

Is that a hoot or a scream or what?

Barn owls don’t hoot. They screech. Whenever Hoosier hears or sees Pellow coming he starts making happy screeching sounds — he knows snacks are imminent: “He’s like if I talk a lot I get snacks, because the fuller he gets the less he talks.”

Ghost owls?

Back in the day, people thought their barns were haunted thanks to those eerie screeches, pale white faces and penchant for hanging out in the structures.

Contact the writer: 636-0270