Category | News

Live mascot under consideration

Published on October 20, 2009 by Alan Moore

Talk of a live owl mascot began circulating after a student raised the issue during a Vision: 2010-2015 forum last week hosted by President Daniel Papp and the Student Government Association.

University officials say the special addition of an owl to the campus community is more of a long-term project, but is under consideration.

“We have been in contact with two outside organizations who have experience with training exotic birds, and another has been in touch with our athletics department,” said Arlethia Perry-Johnson, special assistant to the president for Legal Affairs.

Papp told the crowd at the first Vision forum on Sunday, Oct. 11 that two raptor centers (facilities devoted to conserving birds of prey) are in operation within a roughly three-and-a-half hour drive from Kennesaw at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.

“We have been in touch with these two centers to see what arrangements can be made,” said Perry-Johnson.

The question remains if the live mascot would be housed on campus.  Housing the owl off campus would follow the lead of other mascots such as “Uga,” the canine face of the Georgia Bulldogs.

University officials said they see the animal’s care as the foremost concern throughout the process.

“We would want the owl to be a part of events and activities on campus, but obviously following all of the necessary protocols for its care would receive the utmost consideration,” said Perry-Johnson.

George Olney, assistant athletic director for External Affairs, echoed the sentiment: “It would be an absolute shame if we were to take on the responsibility of caring for this creature and then be unable to honor that commitment and put its health and life at risk. However, later on, with the proper facilities, people and training we could certainly explore the option [of] keeping it here on campus.”

In light of recent nation and worldwide economic conditions and budget cuts throughout the University System of Georgia, another issue on the minds of athletics officials is meeting the costs for obtaining and caring for a live mascot.

“At the moment, there are simply other matters we have to take care of in our budget, but that’s certainly not to say we’ve written off the effort,” said Olney. “Our first wish for meeting the costs would be to find a sponsor for the owl, be it an individual, company or other outside organization. After that, we would look to the student fees that make up the athletic department’s budget.”

Roughly one year ago, athletics officials were contacted by the owners of the Winding Woods Ranch in northeast Georgia, which houses a sanctuary for owls and similar birds of prey. The facility’s owners also train the ravens seen at Baltimore Ravens games.

“When they contacted us, there was surprise on both sides that a Division I athletic program was so close to their facility,” said Olney.

Not long after the initial contact, Winding Woods staff members brought one of their owls to visit campus.

“It was incredible to see the wingspan and physical size of this bird,” said Olney.

If work on the mascot project continues, some students may find that they are no longer the only nocturnal beings on campus.