Karla Bloem will present “Real Life Great Horned Owl Soap Opera.”

The presentation will only be available via Zoom Join Meeting  We are limited to 95 participants so join early.

A real-life soap opera has played itself out over the past 19 years between more than 25 captive and wild Great Horned Owls, forming the basis of an in-depth vocal study on the species. In this presentation, you will experience owl dating, divorce, territorial defense, and more as you learn about the owls’ various vocalizations and meanings.

Karla Bloem is the founder and executive director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota. She acquired Alice the Great Horned Owl in 1998 for educational programs and began studying Great Horned Owl vocalizations in 2004. Karla is now the world authority on their vocalizations and has given presentations in The Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Portugal, and South Africa. Alice’s popularity led Karla to create the International Festival of Owls, the first full-weekend, all-owl event in North America that has inspired similar festivals in Italy, Nepal, and India.

Karla and Alice festivals in Italy, Nepal, and India. Karla and Alice testified before the Minnesota House and Senate environment committees to successfully gain protection for Great Horned Owls in 2005. Karla received the Brother Theodore Voelker Award from the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union in 2001, a Bush Leadership Fellowship in 2008, and a World Owl Hall of Fame Special Achievement Award in 2021. She has assisted several authors (including Jennifer Ackerman for her book “What an Owl Knows”) and filmmakers and has appeared on Animal Planet and the CBC’s “The Secret Life of Owls.”

A recording of this presentation will only be available if we exceed the participant limit (95) on our Zoom licences.