what on earth would kill an adult great horned owl (1 Viewer)

scuba0095 · Aug 30, 2007

hello

me and some friends found a dead great horned owl (a HUGE one) in the bush the other day while walking

We checked it over it did not seem to be shot seemed to be in decent condition except for numerous small tiny wounds on its head looked like someone tool a hammer and repeadly hit it in differant spots on the head

my guess was a flock of ravens did this? Has this ever happened before? can covids areally kill a bird of prey by mobbing them?

Peewit · Aug 30, 2007

scuba0095 said:
hello

me and some friends found a dead great horned owl (a HUGE one) in the bush the other day while walking

We checked it over it did not seem to be shot seemed to be in decent condition except for numerous small tiny wounds on its head looked like someone tool a hammer and repeadly hit it in differant spots on the head

my guess was a flock of ravens did this? Has this ever happened before? can covids areally kill a bird of prey by mobbing them?

Hi scuba

Such a magnificent bird too

It could be the fact it was old, or it was diseased in some way - so many reasons here. :-C

Of course the Ravens would take advantage of the situation. :-C

KC Foggin · Aug 30, 2007

I know when I lived in NY there was a huge rodent problem in the city and parks dept put down rat poison. Well, suddenly large numbers of BOPs were being found dead all of a sudden. Necropsies showed that they had ingested poisoned rodents so I suppose this could be a possibility

scuba0095 · Aug 30, 2007

no one puts rodent poison or animal poison in a protected conservation area

deborah4 · Aug 30, 2007

Birds do die of old age sometimes (the 'wounds' could have been caused after death)

thaw · Aug 31, 2007

what about west nile?

Cudyll Bach · Aug 31, 2007

scuba0095 said:
no one puts rodent poison or animal poison in a protected conservation area

Unfortunately they do in this part of the world.

Robert / Seattle · Aug 31, 2007

scuba0095 said:
no one puts rodent poison or animal poison in a protected conservation area

But Owls is quite mobile, naturally, and could have fed outside the area.

scuba0095 · Aug 31, 2007

why did it look like someoen took a small hammer and chipped away at its head ?

like a weasel or snake or bird just giving multiple bites''

nothing was eaten it looklike an act of pure violence

Robert / Seattle · Aug 31, 2007

scuba0095 said:
why did it look like someoen took a small hammer and chipped away at its head ?

like a weasel or snake or bird just giving multiple bites''

nothing was eaten it looklike an act of pure violence

Looks like a case for a forensic ornithologist. Your local Conservation Officer may have more ideas of how to proceed, especially because it is a protected species.

nirofo · Sep 1, 2007

scuba0095 said:
no one puts rodent poison or animal poison in a protected conservation area

They do in the UK, nobody stops em ????

nirofo.

Peewit · Sep 1, 2007

nirofo said:
They do in the UK, nobody stops em ????

nirofo.

I agree with that a lot

Why has this Owl died? Has it been poisoned or not? Same thing to me? Is it a sport to some people? Maybe I am off the beaten track here, but close to where the problem lies.

It does need some post morton off some description to confirm the problem it died of.

scuba0095: Will you let us know here if that is possible to let us know what it had died of?

Interested here.

scuba0095 · Sep 1, 2007

ok so why is everyone ruling out covids???

i saw them in flocks of hundreds have they ever done something like this?

i see them going after red tail hawks why not an owl which is a slower flyer?

maersk · Sep 2, 2007

owls are more feared by most corvids in general, since great horned owls have been known to kill multiple crows whtrn their asleep at their roosts at night.......

maersk · Sep 2, 2007

i also remember a report of a hiker comming upon a lynx and great horned owl, both dead, in the taiga north of lake superior near lake nipigon in ontario, apparently the owl had attacked a full grown lynx and had gotten its talons in the cats neck, while at the same time the lynx delivered a fatal bite to the owl, the owls talons constricted and severed the cats brainstem and they died at the same time....

this was 20 or so years ago and im not clear on the other details......

BrownnishSkua · Oct 25, 2009

maersk said:
i also remember a report of a hiker comming upon a lynx and great horned owl, both dead, in the taiga north of lake superior near lake nipigon in ontario, apparently the owl had attacked a full grown lynx and had gotten its talons in the cats neck, while at the same time the lynx delivered a fatal bite to the owl, the owls talons constricted and severed the cats brainstem and they died at the same time....

this was 20 or so years ago and im not clear on the other details......

I am interested in this account and I know that there are some whom will doubt old accounts nevertheless, it seems reasonable that a GHO would constrict its talons under pressure and cause a severing of the catsjagular veins.
Back to topic, no I don't think ravens are capable of killing a GHO despite the multiple mobbing that has inccured, the owl might have already been old or sick.

what on earth would kill an adult great horned owl (1 Viewer)

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scuba0095

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