18 October 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Kiana Lucera with Tanganyika Wildlife Park brought in Balthazar, a Eurasian eagle owl, to KSN’s Wild Side on Wednesday.
According to Lucera, Eurasian eagle owls are found throughout Europe and Asia. They are also one of the biggest owls in the world.
“He only weighs about four pounds, which is pretty impressive,” said Lucera. “Usually, people look at him and say, ‘Oh, he probably weighs about 10, 15 pounds,’ but they have lots of feathers and they have hollow bones, which is an adaptation to make them really light for flight.”
Lucera says one of the many fun facts about Bubs, a nickname for Balthazar, is that he has silent flight.
“So whenever he’s flying around, they come out at night time, and they need to be nice and quiet, so his feathers have a serrated edge on them that allows the air to pass through so that they don’t make any noise at all,” said Lucera.
Bubs can also turn his head two-thirds of the way around.
“He can’t go in a full circle, but he can go really far to be able to see what is going on around him,” said Lucera.
Lucera says to come out to Tanganyika Wildlife Park for Pumpkins at the Park. The event is from 6 to 10 p.m. every Saturday in October. Tickets are $22 for those three and older and $10 for those two and younger who will be trick or treating. There are activities, shows and attractions for people of all ages. For more information about the event and to purchase tickets online, click here.
Tanganyika Wildlife Park will be closing for the season on Sunday, Nov. 12.