Raptor's Rhapsody You wouldn't be wrong if that call
of the wild you hear at the Wilderness Outpost at Bedwell River next season is
particularly poignant. If all goes according to plan, those calls will come from
one of many raptors staged there in Transition Flight Pens built by the resorts
for OWL - the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, headquartered in Delta,
British Columbia. OWL is an internationally known society for birds
of prey (raptors), a non-profit charitable organization and education facility
with a mandate to provide care and rehabilitation to injured and orphaned wildlife,
with priority given to protected species. Growing in direct proportion
to the negative impact urban encroachment has on endangered raptors is the importance
of OWL's Return To The Wild program. Prior to entering into this landmark
joint-venture with Clayoquot Wilderness Resorts & Spa, OWL had no resources to
build or operate much needed flight pens in wilderness areas where specific species
should be returned after rehabilitation. Prior to return, rehab raptors must spend
at least two supervised weeks in flight pens, being acclimatized to the sights
and the sounds of their new surroundings. On-site cameras and other monitoring
equipment will keep OWL staff in Delta apprised of raptor progress, and in touch
with resort staff at all times. Already, one such raptor, a female bald
eagle, long-recovered from a lung infection, was released into the Clayoquot Sound
Biosphere, from our Quait Bay property. That release took place late September,
2003, the very day that inspired GM John Caton and resorts' owner, the Genovese
Family Trust, to support OWL Executive Director, Bev Day, through this very important
environmental initiative. |