With Covid-19 restrictions being repealed, Joburg Zoo has restored its owl education project that aims to create a sustainable owl population and assist in environmental education awareness.
The project focuses on educating the public about owls and breaking myths surrounding the birds of prey, giving people interesting facts about owls and informing them about the benefits of having owls in communities.
Animal attendant at the zoo Tshepisho Mokgabudi said, “Many people believe owls bring bad luck and death, and are also associated with witchcraft. The aspect of this project is to help people and owls to co-exist peacefully in their communities.”
Joburg Zoo has a collection of owls including the spotted eagle, barn, Cape eagle, and white-faced scoops that are trained and used during their owl education talks.
Mokgabudi said Stinson, a 12-year-old barn owl who has been at Joburg Zoo for eight years and was rescued from a pet store in Alexandra, is now an essential component of the owl talks and awareness programme.
Themba Majola, a Joburg Zoo intern explained that because of the negative reputation of owls and the beliefs associated with them, they were often killed, and there was a period when owl numbers were declining in Joburg.
“Common owls that we have in Gauteng are barn owls, spotted eagle owl, and African grass owl. They play an important role in the environment by controlling small animal populations and they eat predominantly rodents which assists the public in the control of rodents which carry diseases,” Majola said.
Makgabudi added that if the public saw an owl, they must not kill it because it might mean there are rodents around.
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