Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2006

Cumberland, Ohio – Campers are getting hands-on experience with an osprey reintroduction effort as part of the WildeCamp summer camps at the Wilds this year. A group of osprey chicks were recently brought to the Wilds from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia as part of an ongoing project in cooperation with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, and campers were on-hand to help prepare them for eventual release into the wild.

When the birds arrived, more than 30 WildeCamp participants assisted Wilds staff with banding them for identification, conducting health examinations and placing them in a 30-foot hacking tower (hacking is a falconry term for the process of taking a captive raptor and gradually teaching it to live on its own).

Over the course of the next few weeks, additional WildeCamp participants will assist with catching fish and feeding the osprey until they are old enough to fledge and hunt on their own. The fledglings are expected to remain at the Wilds until fall when they will likely migrate south, hopefully to return in future years.

The osprey reintroduction program at the Wilds, now in its third year, has proven successful. A pair of ospreys took up residence on a nesting platform near the hacking tower this spring. Though they were not successful at hatching young, they are expected to return to the area in future breeding seasons.

The osprey is sometimes referred to as the “fish hawk”. This fish-eating raptor captures its prey by hovering over water until it spots a meal. The bird then plunges feet first into the water and when successful, rises into the air and flies off. Ospreys were once common throughout North America, including Ohio. Use of pesticides, particularly DDT, caused a dramatic population decline. As a result, the osprey is listed as an endangered species in Ohio. Efforts have been underway since 1995 to establish a successful breeding population here in Ohio.

The Wilds is one of the largest and most innovative wildlife conservation centers in the world, with a mission to advance conservation through science, education, and personal experience. Located on nearly 10,000 acres in southeast Ohio, the Wilds is home to more than 25 species of non-native wildlife from Africa, Asia and North America and hundreds of indigenous species. In addition to innovative, in-depth science and education programs, the Wilds offers guided experiences to the public on selected days May through October.

Further information is available by visiting www.thewilds.org or by calling 740-638-5030.