Rare white raven makes debut at Vancouver Island wildlife centre

A Vancouver Island animal rescue group that's popular with visitors has become even more of a destination thanks to its newest ambassador, a rare white raven.

The North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington, B.C., recently unveiled the bird named "Blizzard" to the public.

"He spends his time up at the front and he picks out certain people that he really has a connection with and chats back and forth, and it's a really beautiful thing to see," said Derek Downes, animal care supervisor at NIWRC.

Blizzard arrived at the recovery centre last year, after he was found suffering from medical issues, including poor feather condition.

Blizzard's unusual colouration also leaves him with a compromised immune system and a vulnerability to UV radiation. He now stays in a special enclosure designed to protect him.

The juvenile white raven is shown: (CTV News)

Downes says NIWRC didn't want to push the bird into anything it wasn't comfortable with.

"We are always going to put the animal's best interest first so we wanted to do it slowly, kind of put him out on display and see how he was going to react," he said.

Michelle Gregoire visited the rescue centre on Wednesday to see the bird, and tried her best to have a conversation with him.

"I just try to do this dripping sound, and then click and clucking, and then he would call back and it sounded like he was trying to say some words," she said.

Downes says that Blizzard does in fact mimic a few words.

"Ravens in general have a really wide vocalization range and they really are skilled at mimicry," said the animal care supervisor. "And I think he really enjoys when people kind of have that positive sort of interaction with him."

At some point in the future, Blizzard will be joined by a second white raven that the facility is currently treating.