Oli Kai’s Incredible Flight Home

Our American Crow has quite a story to tell. He was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 2016. At some point in his first year of life, he was found on the ground struggling to fly. He was taken to a local wildlife rehabber, Elaine Ibarra, who determined one wing was permanently damaged. Additionally, she discovered he had limited eyesight. She gave him the name Oli Kai.

I connected with Elaine through a mutual friend after she realized Oli would need permanent placement. My immediate thought was, how are we going to get a crow from Santa Barbara to Chattanooga - for free? 

Enter our friend, James Howard, with Sunny 92.3 and WTVC NewsChannel 9, who is also a pilot. He asked his friend, Taylor Newman, at Crystal Air to help. Next thing you know, we’ve got a gratis flight for Oli! Even better, Elaine decided to fly Oli with her on a commercial flight from Santa Barbara to Missouri, creating a shorter hop for James and crew. With James piloting the plane, Taylor as co-pilot, and passengers Lucy (who is James’ daughter) and Morgan, a videographer, the small plane made the trip from Chattanooga to Missouri and back in one day, carrying our precious cargo to his new home.

James’ family was so inspired by Oli, they decided to write a book about their trip to get him. 

We are forever grateful to Taylor Newman for supplying the plane and fuel and to James Howard and his family for making our hope a reality and for immortalizing Oli’s story through his book.

Framed pages of the book are displayed at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, TN. And, better yet, you can order a copy for yourself!