Why Dusty feels snowy in August

Beale Park welcomes snowy owl chicks

STAFF at Beale Wildlife Park and Gardens have expressed their delight after hatching a pair of snowy owl chicks.

One of the chicks is being nursed by zookeepers, who removed it from its parents – pre-existing residents – to ease the burden of raising a hungry, demanding twosome.

Curator Andy Nicholls said: “We don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl yet, as it’s only five weeks old, but we’ve called it Dusty.

“It’s struggling a bit in the heat so we keep it as cool as possible by sitting it in front of a fan which it seems to enjoy.”

Heat is a particular concern where snowy owls are concerned, as they are indigenous to the cold Arctic tundra, but staff are optimistic about the chicks.

Dusty’s sibling is being raised by its parents and can be viewed in the snowy owl enclosure.