Alessondra's Owl Cam

[Kris G.]

From FB-First hatch for Mrs. T at 7:51 PM! 

[Carol P.]

 

[Kris G.]

1st hatch named Java!

2nd hatch was on 2/21..named Malaya!

3rd hatch at 8:28 PM tonight!

          


http://www.ustream.tv/okcowlcam

[carla]

Great news............Cuties

[Carol P.]

   Great News!

[Kris G.]

Very sad news from FB-

OKC Owl Cam Followers,

There is no easy way to tell you this.

Our local NBC affiliate, KFOR-TV anchor Ali Meyer has covered Alessondra's OKC Great Horned Owl Cam from its inception, with one of her past stories about this project even being picked up by CNN and NBC.  Unfortunately, the story that will air tonight (and later be posted here) about the OKC Owl Cam is one of sadness.  (You can watch it via live stream at 6pm CST at kfor.com/live )

Deziray was recently contacted by a neighbor from a nearby block and asked to come look at what the neighbor thought was an injured owl. When Deziray arrived, she found a familiar owl that was, unfortunately, not injured but deceased.

She carefully wrapped the owl up and brought it home, notifying me of the situation. I came home and we both thought, based on size and markings, that it had to be Mr. Tiger. We reached out to our usual expert advisors, both of whom suspected secondary poisoning by ingesting a rodent who’d eaten rodenticide.

That evening, we shared the news with Alessondra. She was devastated, as you can imagine. Working on the assumption that he was poisoned, we began discussing ways we could honor him with a campaign to educate fans and the public about the unintentional consequences of using rodenticides. We talked about all of the potential good things that could come from this and ways we would make sure he didn’t die in vain.

We wanted to know facts, and we believed that the Tigers, Alessondra, and the OKC Owl Community deserved to know what happened. So the next morning, Deziray drove him to Stillwater, where we commissioned a necropsy at the OK State University’s Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory .

The following day, Deziray heard from the vet at the lab. The news was not at all what we had expected or hoped. The owl was not male, but female. Her cause of death was not from rodenticide. She was shot. The report states that the necropsy examination reveals acute, focal, severe pleural and pulmonary laceration accompanied by regionally extensive intracoelomic hemorrhage. The character and distribution of the lacerations are suggestive of projectile trauma, although no projectile (bullet) was found.

After receiving the news, as astounding as it was, we went back and compared markings and believe strongly that it was, indeed, Mrs. Tiger. She was too large and too ornate to be a recent owlet, and the necropsy reports this was a mature adult owl. We originally thought it was Mr. Tiger because she seemed smaller than we were used to seeing her…but we usually see her up close when she’s “fattened up� for the long-haul on the nest. Comparing photos, the markings are indeed consistent with Mrs. Tiger’s.

We are as disheartened by this as I’m sure you are. Who could do this to an owl, let alone one that is perhaps among the most well-known owls in the world?

That’s a question Deziray and I have asked ourselves a lot over the past several days. Was it an adult who was tired of the hooting? A careless kid who didn’t know the seriousness of his actions?  While we’ve determined it our duty to report it, it is not our burden to prove who did it, nor within our power to take it much further on our own.

I have been in contact with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and have spoken at length with the Game Warden who oversees Oklahoma County.  I have shared with him all of the details and evidence, of which we have a considerable amount, along with the OADL’s necropsy report. We hope that information, combined with the interest generated by KFOR’s story, will ensure Mrs. T does not leave us in vain.

In the meantime, we mourn the loss of Mrs. Tiger and await her to be returned to us when she will be provided a peaceful and ceremonial place in Alessondra's play yard, where she will rest in the love of the little girl who discovered her and helped share her story. Where she will remain in the territory of her mate, Mr. Tiger, who continues to appear on rooftops nearby at dawn and dusk to this day.  And while it was not as picturesque as perhaps she fantasized, Alessondra can at least say that she has finally been able to hold and pet the owl whose soulful connection she has enjoyed over the past several years of her childhood.

We want you, our closest friends and followers in this experience, to know how sorry we are to bring you this news. We mourn with you and will keep you updated as we know more.

The story that airs tonight will eventually be posted/shared here, but you can tune into the live stream at 6PM CST by going to kfor.com/live

With love,
Jeff, Deziray, & Alessondra

[Dot_Forrester]

  The longer I live, the more horrified I am at disgusting human behavior. So very sad ...

Very sad news from FB-

OKC Owl Cam Followers,

There is no easy way to tell you this.

The following day, Deziray heard from the vet at the lab. The news was not at all what we had expected or hoped. The owl was not male, but female. Her cause of death was not from rodenticide. She was shot. The report states that the necropsy examination reveals acute, focal, severe pleural and pulmonary laceration accompanied by regionally extensive intracoelomic hemorrhage. The character and distribution of the lacerations are suggestive of projectile trauma, although no projectile (bullet) was found.

[Carol P.]

Fly free Mrs. Tiger. 

[Donna]

http://kfor.com/2016/10/21/local-celebrity-owl-found-shot-to-death-game-wardens-investigating/  Wardens investigating

Very very sad to watch!! Caught on cam!  

[MAK]

http://kfor.com/2016/10/21/local-celebrity-owl-found-shot-to-death-game-wardens-investigating/  Wardens investigating

Very very sad to watch!! Caught on cam!  

 

[carly]

 

[Annette]

Very very sad 

[AlisonL]

So very sad to see this. She was such a beautiful owl, and she will be much missed. 

I hope they find the person who did this, but do not have much hope that this will happen. Wildlife crime always seems to end up with nothing being done. This is much more than a "misdemeanor".

[AlisonL]

An update from the site earlier this month:

As bittersweet as may be for some, we're happy to announce that it appears Mr. T is in a new relationship. This footage is from last evening, one of many sightings over the past few weeks of a potential new mate. Not only is this good news that Mr. T has held his territory, but it appears he is exercising influence in potential nest sites...right back where we all would want them to nest if it happens.

Any progress on finding the person who shot his mate? Not that I can find. 

[Kris G.]

An update from the site earlier this month:

As bittersweet as may be for some, we're happy to announce that it appears Mr. T is in a new relationship. This footage is from last evening, one of many sightings over the past few weeks of a potential new mate. Not only is this good news that Mr. T has held his territory, but it appears he is exercising influence in potential nest sites...right back where we all would want them to nest if it happens.

Any progress on finding the person who shot his mate? Not that I can find. 

I've looked but never found any updates about it, Alison.