Walt Disney World 50 for 50: An 11 Acre Sanctuary

Discovery Island is the central hub at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but its namesake animal sanctuary once sat off the shores of Fort Wilderness. The history of this particular island in the middle of Bay Lake has always intrigued me. From Raz Island to Discovery Island and all the little stories in between, there is a whole history to this island that many are unaware of.

My fascination with Discovery Island, or Treasure Island as it was known in the early years of Walt Disney World, isn’t just because it is located on Bay Lake near my beloved Fort Wilderness, and it isn't only because of my strong conservation beliefs. It is also because my family has a personal connection to the island. In the late 1980s my Aunt Suzi and Uncle Gene, along with my cousins Nic and Alexandra, rescued a baby Barn Owl, whom they named Owlen. It is one of those little known facts of of the resort that many of the animals there had their own rescue stories. Rather than butcher the tale of Owlen, I’ll let my cousin Alexandra relate the rest of the story to you.

Dad found her one day while mowing the lawn. She was on the ground, having fallen out of its nest in a tree above. She was really, really young--she didn't even look like an owl. Since she was still alive, Dad brought her inside and mom called the Game and Wildlife people in the state of Florida. They told us that "runt" owls often get pushed out of their nests by their bigger owl siblings. The Game and Wildlife people basically seemed uninterested and said that the owl would not live through the night.

She did, so the next day, my mom went and got a book on keeping owls alive. Mom found out she had to feed the owl a pleasant combo of raw meat and dog hair, so she could regurgitate. (Owls throw back up bones, feathers, etc. That's called owl pellets.) As she got older we fed her frozen mice (we'd thaw them in the microwave!) and then finally alive mice.

There was nothing wrong with her, but the conundrum was that we could either leave her to die or habituate her to humans. My parents chose the latter. I don't think that in the beginning they ever really expected her to live. At first she lived in the house, but as she got older (and wilder) my parents kept her on the screened in porch. We really only had the owl for 6 or 7 months though.

A full size owl is a pretty difficult thing to keep around. She was sweet, but she had big talons. It's not like you can go on vacation when you have an owl, either. ("Hey, want to come over and feed my carnivorous predator small, live mice?") It wasn't practical to have an owl, and again, I don't think my parents ever expected her to live -- it was one of those things that just sort of happened.

We gave her to Discovery Island because Keeni (our aunt) worked at Disney, and we knew through her that Discovery Island took animals. I remember when we dropped her off-- Keeni came with us and both my mom and dad cried. (I'd never seen my dad cry, so that day really sticks out in my mind.) While they were saying goodbye, Keeni took Nic and I, and we walked around the island. After that, we went back to visit her sometimes and we got in free. (We just told them who we were and they'd let us in.) Also, they always let us back into the back section to see her after we gave her to Discovery Island -- that was really important to my parents.