Return to my Biology pages
Go to my home page
© Copyright 1998, Jim Loy
I seem to remember that a Senator (or perhaps it was a Representative) heard about a biologist who studied owl pellets. Owl pellets are little balls of hair and bones that owls cough up. You find them around a tree in which an owl sits. The Senator (or Representative) was upset that great amounts (not much actually) of money were being wasted on something as goofy as owl pellets.
In order to tell whether an ecosystem is healthy or not, some biologists are monitoring the populations of small rodents. There are essentially two ways to do this, trap small rodents, or study owl pellets. By studying owl pellets, biologists can determine what species of rodents that owls are eating, and how many. It is not very glamorous work. But it might be vital work.
Addendum:
I received two emails asking where to buy owl pellets. Then I received a catalog from Delta Education, P.O. Box 3000, Nashua, NH 03061-3000 offering a package of six sterilized, individually wrapped owl pellets for $19.95 + shipping and handling.
Also see Owl Brand Discovery Kits.
The book Great Government Goofs! says that the Illinois Department of Conservation spent $180,000 to study the contents of owl vomit. I suspect that they meant owl pellets. The book goofed.