Rare owl species in zoos

[Andrew Swales]

This all depends on what the thread title actually means -
Some of the above posts refer to 'rarely kept', others to 'rare in nature'...
Is it both, one or the other..?

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I have a question for anyone who may know better, is there any real Rufous-legged owl in Europe? Or are they all wrongly identified Chaco owls?

Best as I have been able to tell, the vast majority are definitely misidentified Chaco Owl, but I have come across a few animals which looked like they were potentially hybrids between the two species. However I have never come across any definite Rufous-legged and in recent years even the hybrid birds have been getting rarer - and looking closer and closer to Chaco - so I suspect that the last pure-bred Rufous-legged were a couple of generations back now.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Honestly, it also doesn´t look like other zoos have serious interest.

That said, I know of at least one collection here in the UK which has been in contact with Prague to express interest in working alongside them in the Buffy Fish Owl and Philippine Scops programmes, but which hasn't heard back from them.

 

[Jana]

That said, I know of at least one collection here in the UK which has been in contact with Prague to express interest in working alongside them in the Buffy Fish Owl and Philippine Scops programmes, but which hasn't heard back from them.

That´s disappointing to read.