I did more reading on her life, and it sounds like Casper was kept at the center specifically for the role of fostering. Released animals have a much better chance of survival if they are taught proper life skills by their own kind. Casper (and Blinky!) were wild owls that could not be released due to the extent of injuries, but she is still for all purposes, a fully wild owl. She would be treated the same as a releasable owl otherwise to minimize her exposure to people. That is why all the photos kinda stink in the article. They are all photos of her during regular periodic examinations, as that would be the only physical contact people would have with her. She would not be around people for educational programs or events. All her time would be by herself, with Blinky when he was around, and with baby owls. The whole time, she would be living as she would outdoors on her own, mainly interacting with other owls how she would naturally.

She can in to the center with injuries, likely from being caught in a trap. She had a broken wing and had lost some of her toes. While she still looks able to perch on her own, from the sound of it, she was missing some talons and would not be able to feed herself in the wild. She was paired up with another owl they had fostering named Blinky. In addition to raising all those babies together, she even cared for Blinky as he lost his eyesight. There is a video of her bringing a mouse I will try to add.

They sadly lost Blinky last fall, and Casper is continuing to carry on their work. She is currently raising 4 more owlets.

Oct 2025

Today we lost an OWL legend. Blinkey came into our care back in 1984, even before we were a registered society! He was an adult owl who was missing his wingtip due to striking a powerline. This means he was at least 42years old.

Over the years Blinkey helped formulate our fostering program where he has raised hundreds of orphaned great horned owlets. He has helped in Goshawk studies where he lived in the forest with researchers to see if nesting hawks were in the area. He was even in a Sarah MacLachlan music video.

With age came vision issues until he became totally blind, Blinkey had been retired from fostering and lived in Front Education where visitors could visit him and learn. When he lost his vision his longtime cagemate Casper began to bring Blinkey his mice, as you can see in the attached video. Blinkey caught avian pox one year and survived even as a senior bird!

This owl was a survivor, an adoptive parent, a caring mate, and an educator who has taught thousands of people about the importance of our wild raptors. He leaves behind an empty spot under his heat lamp and a spot in our hearts.

Blinky is the smaller, darker one, and Casper is the taller, paler one.

I just left another comment about her back story. She was kept as wild as possible to raise the other owls, so she didn’t get cuddles, she had a job to do. Hence the not great pics, just while she was being handled to make sure she is healthy.