Meet Marlowe, Shakespeare’s sidekick and MARS Wildlife Rescue’s newest barred owl ambassador.
Rozzy Hatch, a Grade 9 student with Partners in Education, has won a naming contest for Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS) Rescue Number BDOW 783 with her brilliant moniker, which garnered a wide majority of votes on the MARS Facebook contest page.
Rozzy came up with the name because she and her family are great fans of the two 16th century bards William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, who were the same age and may even have collaborated (on the play Henry VI).
Having read and attended their plays since she was a small child, Rozzy met our Shakespeare, MARS’s other barred owl ambassador, and thought his roommate’s name should have a comparable connection to the Bard.
Marlowe the owl suffered a permanent brain injury, lost his fear response and predator instinct and hence cannot be released into the wild. He took readily to foster-parenting, to his food and life at MARS, and to his handler. His calm acceptance makes him an ideal bird for public presentations and other ambassador duties. He joins MARS’s other resident birds, including Sawyer, a tiny northern saw-whet owl, coincidentally rescued by the Hatch family several years ago.
You can book a tour to visit Marlowe and his ambassador friends at marswildliferescue.com