Who wants to check out what the owl spit out?
Although it may not exactly appeal to everyone, I love checking out owl pellets. What is an “Owl Pellet” you ask. Technically, it is mostly bone and fur or bone and feathers. You see, when an owl eats another animal, it will sometimes swallow smaller animals whole. The owl cannot digest the hair, bones, or feathers though, so it spits that out in a tightly wadded mass called an “owl pellet.”
If you are the type to go looking for things like owl pellets, you can sometimes find them under large trees. Basically, you have to look under where the owl would perch, so large trees often fill that potential.
This one was found by Monster Truck the Pepper and @papa-pepper. It was under a tree on our walk down to our land. Immediately, I knew what it was and soon had the @little-peppers gathered around as well as some neighborhood children.
From the looks of it I could see that it appeared to have some teeth in it, and a hand.
You could also see part of a spine and I believed that a small skull was also inside. Based on the hair color and consistency, at first I thought that that owl had eaten a squirrel. The teeth looked like they could have come from a squirrel too.
As I began to gently pull apart the pellet, I showed the children all the little things that were inside.
We found two bottom jaw bones.
And a couple tiny arm or leg bones.
We even found a few little claws.
Then came the skull. Only the front part of the skull was intact. The hollow part had been crushed into little fragments.
The jaw bones matched up with the skull, and we concluded that the animals was most likely a small wild rabbit, and not a squirrel.
I even pulled the main teeth out of the jaw bones to show the children how they grow in some rodents.
The same thing can be done with the top incisors.
This is basically what the dismantled owl pellet looked like.
It was a really neat hands on learning experience, and just an interesting activity in general. I remember being taught about owl pellets back when I was a boy, and I have always marveled at them. In some ways, they are kind of like mystery presents, because you never know what you are going to get! Our even had a skull in it!
Have any of you ever found an owl pellet? If you did, did you “dissect” it?
here's the proof:As always, I'm @papa-pepper and
Until next time…
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That is really cool. A great horned owl went after my small dog just a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't believe the size of that owl.
They do get big.
6th grade science class we dissected owl pellets. It was pretty interesting honestly. We got to reassemble the skeleton of the mouse it had eaten. It's a different hobby for sure, but it's pretty cool.
Sounds fun to me!
I made a post showing the farm I grew up on earlier :P Might be up your ally. :P
Cool. Thank you.
Thanks for checking it out, I would love to have shown it to you "once upon a time," but I still remember it and the lessons I learned there. From the whooping for wasting a couple eggs, to learning why we elevate rabbit cages to protect the little critters from predators. I learned so much about respecting other living beings that I am glad it stuck with me even through the worst of it.
Owl pellet?
At a glance I thought you somehow got a photo of what my wife left in the shower drain this morning.
Oh no!!!!
Is there a tiny skull in that too?
Lol. Only when she's in a bad mood. Glad she's not on steemit because I'm pretty sure she'd be in a bad mood right now
Set up a hidden camera that films her reaction once she stumbles upon Steemit and starts going through your comment history. xD
I remember that day.
What a brilliant upbringing the little-peppers are getting, learning while playing and they don't realize it is happening. The best way to learn anything.
Agreed. It helps!
I took an agriculture class in high school. Some boys were dissecting owl pellets with the teacher in the class. I was the only girl in the class and I got 100 on every assignment so the teacher let me not participate in the pellets lol.
Lol. At least now you can see what was inside! Thanks.
Wow!! I never knew these owl pellets even existed - This seizes to amaze my amazement 😮 Just wow.
Nice @papa-pepper!!
Well... not really :)
You have just taught me something I didn't know, amazing. Bet the little ones enjoyed it
That's really cool! I was hoping for a reconstructed little creature but it seems there was not enough bones to do that, it is great that the skull was in there!
A work of art.
@shayne
Your publications are some of the most interesting))) I never know what to expect and what else I'll see interesting))) Excellent find))))
You never know! I like that!
amazing!
It's like a cats spits hairballs
Astonishing what an owl can swallow - and I bet regurgitating a pellet with bones protruding out of it must be pretty uncomfortable!
Ohhh, that takes me back to childhood times! Yes I did dissect some owl pellets and it was so exiting! I should try to find some again. Thanks for the great idea!
Now that's some good learning! It's OK if you don't save an owl pellet for Grandpa. We love you and will see you soon.
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This barred owl visited us for a week straight.
Very cool! Thanks for the photo!
Great article! There are owls at the local Lowe's. I love going there just to see them sitting in the rafters, now I'll have to check for pellets.
I've seen your name but never dove in before. Glad I finally did but sorry I didn't before. Will have to go back and read some of the other/older posts.
Thanks for sharing.
Owls at Lowes? I thought they preferred Home Depot.
Maybe this family likes blue better.
Thank you so much for sharing this great information. when i find one i will know what im looking at, once again thank you kindly :)