Cricket

Hatch Date: Summer 2024
Sex: Unknown
Reason Non-Releasable: Conservation-bred for Education
Weight: 0.4 lbs
Joined TRC Team: July 2024
Favorite Enrichment: Egg cartons with strips of newspaper
Fun Fact: The Burrowing Owl can nest in loose colonies of up to 100 individuals or more!

Cricket hatched in a conservation propagation program in Maryland and was raised to be an education ambassador. The name “Cricket” comes from their call, which resembles the sound of a cricket, and because crickets are a common prey source for the species.

Burrowing Owls are opportunistic feeders, primarily eating insects like grasshoppers, crickets, moths, and beetles, as well as small mammals such as mice, voles, and shrews. They will also prey on birds, ground squirrels, frogs, salamanders, earthworms, bats, scorpions, and caterpillars.

Over the past half-century, Burrowing Owl populations have declined sharply across much of their range. Cricket helps teach the importance of supporting raptor populations by promoting wildlife-friendly fencing and reducing the use of pesticides and rodenticides. They also highlight the need to conserve burrowing mammals, whose nest sites are vital for Burrowing Owls. As a flagship species, Cricket inspires communities to support biodiversity conservation and raises awareness of many species at risk.

Photo credit: TRC Staff