Class Response-Owl Pellets

On Monday, November 9, we started dissecting owl pellets. We did this to find out what owl's ate and how it is connected to a food web. One thing we learned is an owls diet. Owls mostly eat shrews, mice, moles, and most rats. I got this information from the papers we got giving us basic information about owls. Most animals have something that owls don't, a crop, which allows animals to store food for later consumption. Since owls don't have this, their food goes directly to their digestive system. I also learned that when owls swallow their pray whole, the bones and fur get stuck in their gizzard for 10-20 hours. After that, they are regurgitated into pellets. Owl pellets are masses of bone, teeth, hair, feathers, and exoskeletons from the prey the owl ate.
I think that this activity was fun and helped us learn about owls. We learned many facts about them. Also, this activity is related to food webs, habitat's, and parasitism. All in all, doing this lab was productive and a fun way to learn about owls.