Clint Screechwood: Superb Owl of the year!

Clint Screechwood, a one-eyed screech owl, sits on top of a gloved hand in his enclosure.

On Feb. 13, Clint Screechwood, a one-eyed eastern screech owl at The Zoo in Forest Park, was crowned Superb Owl of the Year in BonusFinder's Superb Owl Awards receiving 60 percent of the votes in the final round. 

On Jan. 11, Screechwood was shortlisted with 16 other owls from various organizations for the chance to win the title and $5,000 in support of The Zoo's mission of education, conservation and rehabilitation. He went talon-to-talon in four rounds of a tournament-style vote-off. In the final round, he battled against Sanford, another eastern screech owl and an ambassador for his species at The Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Fla. 

We want to thank everyone that voted for Clint and liked, commented and shared his posts on social media to help us secure $5,000 for our animals. We encourage you to come visit this superb owl in the spring when we open for the season!

ABOUT CLINT: Clint Screechwood and his two companions, Hooma Thurman and Jean-Clawed Van Damme, all live with permanent vision impairments that prevent them from living safely in the wild. The Zoo in Forest Park is focused on education, conservation and rehabilitation and works with wildlife rehabilitators across the country to provide permanent homes to animals that have been deemed non-releasable due to injury, illness, permanent disability and other factors, much like our three eastern screech owls.

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Our Mission

Where do animals go when they can’t survive on their own in the wild?

Many of them come here, to The Zoo in Forest Park & Education Center.

Since 2017, when we shifted our focus away from the traditional zoo model, we have been working with wildlife rehabilitators, refuges, sanctuaries and other zoos across the country to provide a safe, permanent home for animals that have been deemed “non-releasable.”

What, exactly, does that mean?

Below, we introduce you to three of our newest residents: Farrah, Cedar and Damien. Through their stories you will understand how they came to live at The Zoo and why they rely on the care from our dedicated zookeepers.

We are proud of our new mission and philosophy, and the work we are doing in the fields of education, conservation and rehabilitation. But in order to best serve these special needs animals, many of which require lifelong, specialized medical care, we need your help.

Your support is critical in allowing us to follow this path, rescuing and caring for animals that otherwise would not survive. If you, too, believe in our mission we ask you to support it through a monetary donation.

On behalf of all of us at The Zoo in Forest Park, thank you for taking the time to learn more about our mission and a few members of our Zoo Crew.


Meet Farrah

Meet Farrah


Meet Cedar

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Meet Damien

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