Glen Kansanback with Boo, his Eurasian eagle owl.
Photo by Matthew Franklin Carter
Glen Kansanback
Resides in: North Augusta.
Claim to fame: A master class falconer for 30 years, Kansanback educates others about birds of prey during presentations at Eudora Wildlife Safari Park and private events. For details, see falconquestllc.com.
Credentials: Earned his bachelor’s in zoology at North Dakota State University. Retired from 33 years as a federal natural resource specialist, the last 20 with the U.S. Forest Service.
Higher calling: He’s also an associate minister with United Pentecostal Church International, focusing on global missions.
Favorite scripture: Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (NKJV)
It’s been more than 30 years now, but master falconer Glen Kansanback still remembers his first bird, a young red-tailed hawk named Buster he rescued in the wilds of Wyoming. She was nearly starved, living off grasshoppers. And while she would prove to be the hardest bird he’d ever train, Buster grew strong and healthy under his care.
“She turned out to be a wonderful rabbit-hunting hawk. We spent many, many winter days on the Wyoming prairie chasing cottontails and jackrabbits,” Kansanback recalls. “When I released her back into the wild two years later, it was such a great success story. One, I had become a falconer. And two, I saved that bird’s life.”
Today, Kansanback educates others about birds of prey through his business, Falcon Quest. He currently has three falcons and two owls that he uses for demonstrations before crowds ranging from those at an assisted-living facility to kindergarten students. They ask what the birds eat and where he keeps them, and they nervously eye the birds’ beaks and sharp talons.
“A lot of people have heard owls hooting but rarely ever see them. When you bring an owl out, people are just mesmerized,” Kansanback says. “I want them to have that ‘wow’ factor. That’s what turns me on. If I go to a zoo, I don’t want to see that tiger two football fields away. I want that tiger right in front of me. I bring the wild right to them.”
The son of a veterinarian, Kansanback has always had an affinity for animals and the outdoors. He majored in zoology at North Dakota State University and spent 33 years as a federal natural resource specialist before retiring to launch Falcon Quest and make sharing his passion for birds a full-time occupation.
“At heart, I’m always a falconer,” he says. “There’s not many of us, but we see things much differently. It’s just who we are. It’s what we do.”