Two orphaned baby owls are being fostered by Dublin Zoo keeper and his family who are also chronicling their progress on social media.
The owls, who were orphaned in different parts of the country, have become star attractions on ’The Nature Detectives,’ which Peter Phillips and his wife Olivia began during lockdown with the enthusiastic support of their three daughters.
Peter, who has been involved in a number of conservation projects said, “I was going around the schools giving free talks about the environment and biodiversity loss.”
He had planned to do an after school club where he would bring the students to his family home near Ardee, county Louth and explain the world of biodiversity around them.
“The plan was to bring a group of 10 children in and show them the garden, the pond, the wildlife but when lockdown happened that was cancelled.
“So I was going around the garden with our three daughters and they were asking questions about biodiversity and I was explaining their relationship with each other.”
His wife Olivia, who is a zoologist and primary school teacher, “said that it was really interesting and she started taking short videos and putting them on Instagram and then on Facebook and that is where it started. The kids decided to call it The Nature Detectives.”
Peter has worked in Dublin Zoo for thirty years and is one of the founding members of the Louth Nature Trust. He was also one of the keepers who featured in The Zoo television programme.
The Nature Detectives and lockdown coincided with the two owls being orphaned in separate locations within days of each other last month.
Peter agreed to foster them and prepare them to be released back to the wild.
Both owls are a few weeks old and are currently in an aviary at the family home where they are well monitored by Rose (11), Emily (9) and Annabelle (5).
The excitement created for the girls by Vincent and Oscar, who are both long eared owls, as well as their lively and educational contributions can be followed on The Nature Detectives accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
