Rarely seen by the public, baby great horned owls are being
treated at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching
Hospital, and it’s hard to believe that the nine palm-sized
puffballs with curious yellow eyes will grow into fierce raptors
of the woods. The young babies - five from one nest and four
from another - are being hand-fed until they are strong enough
to eat on their own. The first four were brought to WSU on April
13 at roughly one week old. Just four days later, the second
group arrived at only a few days old. "We’ve had great horned
babies before, but in 10 years, I’ve never had any this young,”
said veterinarian Nickol Finch, who oversees WSU’s Raptor
Rehabilitation Center. "Pretty much all they’re doing is eating
and sleeping.” It’s rare for humans to get a glimpse of baby
great horns. Their parents usually nest high up in trees and are
aggressive protectors of their young. Considering the owls
possess talons powerful enough to cart off animals five times
their weight, most people are wis