I overheard a conversation some time ago. A woman was lamenting the
disappearance of her cat. It was outside at night, and never returned.
In the woods near her home, she had seen the tracks of a fisher. With a
wavering voice, she concluded that her beloved tom had been taken by the
fisher.
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Outdoor cats are predators which kill billions of birds and mammals. |
The out-of-doors can be a dangerous place for all
manner of animals. A house cat out-of-doors is a predator. A recent
study has significantly raised the estimate of carnage from outdoor
cats; they are the leading cause of death among both birds and mammals
in the United States, killing 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion birds each
year. A beloved house cat sometimes brags of its prowess by depositing a
carcass at the feet of its owner (or cat servant). Sometimes the cat
lover will complain about the carcass, but rarely about the unseen toll
that the out-of-doors cat may take on other wildlife.
However,
fair is fair. Out-of-doors, the distinction between predator and prey
is rarely a firm distinction. Beloved domesticated kitty and untamed
wild animal means nothing when they all roam, unleashed through the
woods, shrubs and fields. Predator may become prey. The predatory house
cat may be preyed upon, and not return home come morning.
I
was tempted to interrupt the woman whose quavering voice lamented the
loss of her beloved tom and tell her that beloved kitties are not killed
by fishers if they are kept indoors. I did not say that to her. I say
it now to all cat owners. Your outdoor cat is a predator. It is also
fair prey. Keep it inside. End of sermon.
Pound for
pound and ounce for ounce, the fisher may be the most formidable four
legged predator in our woods, quite capable of killing an animal larger
than itself, including tame pussy cats and of holding off, or even
taking down, most slobbering house dogs. However, I suspect the fisher
takes the blame for more house cat disappearances than it deserves. The
true tiger in our woods is not fur bearing, but feathered - a stealth
hunter.
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Great Horned Owl guards its nest at Heinz NWR |
Bubo virginianus - The Great Horned Owl. One
of the folk names for the Great Horned Owl is Cat Owl. When food is
short, wrote Edward Forbush, the Massachusetts ornithologist, “the owl
will attack even the domestic cat, and usually with success.”
The
Great Horned Owl is our most widespread owl, found throughout North and
South America, and adapted to a wide variety of habitats. “Powerful”
and “dangerous” are the adjectives most frequently used by writers from
the early nineteenth to the early twenty-first centuries to describe
this bird. John James Audubon knew it as one of the most common species
along the shores of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. “The Great Horned
Owl,” Audubon wrote, “lives retired, and it is seldom that more than one
is found in the neighbourhood of a farm, after the breeding season; but
as almost every detached farm is visited by one of these dangerous and
powerful marauders, it may be said to be abundant. The havoc which it
commits is very great. I have known a plantation almost stripped of the
whole of the poultry raised upon it during spring, by one of these
daring foes of the feathered race, in the course of the ensuing winter.”
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Great Horned Owl - Bombay Hook NWR |
The Great Horned Owl may have an equal in the Western
Hemisphere as a predator, but it has no superior. And in our
neighborhoods, it has no superior. The imperial looking Bald Eagle
doesn’t begin to compare as a predator. Our national symbol is quite
content to feed on a deer carcass (something a Great Horned would never
do), or steal fish from an osprey. The Bald Eagle is an adept fish hawk.
When necessary, it is capable of taking the similarly sized Canada
Goose. But the Great Horned Owl can also take the Canada Goose is spite
of the goose weighing three times as much as the owl. It may take a Wild
Turkey which can weigh even more than the goose. And, the Great Horned
has been observed driving the Bald Eagle away from its aerie and
appropriating the nest for its own use. Again, quoting Forbush: “The
Great Horned Owl is no respecter of persons. It kills weaker owls from
the Barred Owl down, most of the hawks and such nocturnal animals as
weasels and minks.” In Texas during a three night period, a Great
Horned took a Cattle Egret, a Great Blue Heron, and a gray fox.
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Great Horned Owl near Bisbee, AZ |
The Great Horned Owl has many enemies that hate him,
but none that are dangerous, except for humans. It has earned the
particular enmity of the crow. And for good reason - its depredations
among the crow population can be prodigious. It will take old and young
crows from the nest at night and during the winter will pick crows off
of their night roosts. It is crows that will most often give away the
Great Horn’s presence during the day. When you see crows noisily flying
around the top of a tree, it is quite likely that they are mobbing their
most dangerous enemy. Eventually the crows’ harassment may stir the
desultory owl into flight; as it leisurely flies off, the crows continue
their uproarious pursuit. Pete Dunne writes: “Absolutely hated by
crows, who amuse themselves by gathering around roosting owls and
haranguing them with a gritty vehemence they inflict on no other enemy.”
Except - there is nothing amusing about the crows’ actions. The
presence of the Great Horned Owl is a mortal danger to the crows. The
crows may be courageous and bold during the day, but when night descends
they cede any advantage they might have to the powerful stealth hunter
of the night.
The Great Horned Owl shares habitat with
the Red-tailed Hawk. If you have the hawk, you almost certainly have
the owl. One is diurnal, the other nocturnal. The Great Horned Owl nests
early, often as early as February when winter still holds its grip. It
will sometimes appropriate an old Red-tailed Hawk nest.
In
our regenerated Vermont woodlands, it is very difficult to sight a
Great Horned Owl. One time on a wooded Newfane hill, I was sure there
was a Great Horned in a tree overhead - the mobbing crows gave away its
presence with their loud and wild cawing. But the owl was impervious to
the crows and I never saw a shadow of its flight.
At
night it is easier to know its presence. I have often heard this owl at
night as it queries the dark landscape and answers itself: “Whooo’s
awake? ... Meee, too .... Whooo’s awake? .... Meee too.” The owl is
probably calling for its mate, but he is also telling me that the night
belongs to him.
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Great Horned Owl near Wilcox, AZ |
One January day in Arizona, I saw three Great Horned
Owls. I was with people who knew where they roosted. They led the way
through the desert to a copse near a watering hole where we searched the
bare trees for the owl. Its appearance as it perched on the limb
conveyed a somnolent disregard for us, or perhaps a haughty arrogance.
But as it turned its head and blinked in my direction I felt a sleepy
malice in his stare. I was glad that I was too big to be in danger from
this winged tiger. At least, I think I was too big.
Chris Petrak
Tails of Birding
They are truly a magnificent bird. I see them occasionally in our area. And have gotten some nice photos of them.
ReplyDeleteI can believe the house cat carnage. Dogs are ironically less dangerous. My dog tried to catch squirrels and birds for years and never came close to her dismay.
ReplyDeleteFabulous post. I've noticed that frequently the uninitiated (non wildlife folks) will attribute a pet death to something dramatic and, usually, some native wildlife species. More often I expect the cause is cars, dogs, and other cats.
ReplyDeleteThere are, of course, also many wildlife species where I live that might kill a cat, including foxes, coyotes, bobcats, bears and mountain lions. I don't know if they'd all bother, but I've been told that bobcats do NOT tolerate competition from other kitties, so will dispatch them, and walk away. We ALSO have great horned owls, and I didn't know about their cat killing propensities, nor their crow killing bent. Super interesting.
Our kitties are indoor cats (I am a conservation biologist, after all), so I have little to fear for them, save too much kibble and too little exercise. One final note: even if your pet does not kill animals, they can cause great stress which can tip the scales if they are just barely able to get by. For the wildlife, they believe their life is in danger, so I it's probably very physiologically stressful and energetically expensive to be pursued by a predator, regardless of how inept the dog (or cat) is.
Very well written post and an enjoyable essay to read. Perhaps due to the lesser density of trees in the intermountain west, Great Horned Owls are fairly easy to find year round. In my birding patch I know of five active nests. I've observed only one hatched owlet so far. I can almost always find the smaller male mate nearby. A magnificent beast that will forever thrill me.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! Friends who ranched in a rural canyon told me that owls and coyotes took many of their barn cats -- the lighter-colored ones never lasted long. I love cats, and would never dream of letting a cat of mine roam the neighborhood. Catios, people!
ReplyDeleteThe MidwestWeekends blog noted a recent NY Times article. Excerpt:
We watched a New York Times video that called owls 'an avian tribe apart.'
In the video, Norman Smith, director of the Audubon Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton, Mass., talks about a nesting pair of great horned owls he had watched.
“They brought in a pheasant, a number of ducks, a small raccoon, a woodchuck, two cats and a toy poodle,'' he said. “A lot of (chicks) don't survive, but if every great horned owl chick that hatched survived, there would be virtually nothing left in these woods.''
Thanks for the fine post!
Well said, Chris. I am glad for the admonition to keep one's cats indoors. And I discovered the deadly nature of this owl when I lived in Idaho for a couple of years back in the 80's. It was really my first encounter with living with this species nearby and back then we lived far out in the country in a small ranching area. Everyone had cats that lived outdoors. We had a new kitten that was playing on the front porch. I left early in the morning to do errands and when I came back the kitten was gone. I suspect the nearby nesting Great Horned owls ate it for breakfast before tucking in for the day. This incident, plus a couple of others, plus becoming more educated on the subject has led me to keep my cats indoors for the past 13 years. I only wish more cat owners would learnt his lesson! A very timely and appropriate post!
ReplyDelete