Owl Pellets

 

Barn owl, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/id#

As part of my job, I lead STEM programs for 4 - 10 year olds. Usually, I choose the topic and design the program. However, my supervisor asked me to do one on owl pellets for the last one I did. I said sure, even though I knew nothing about owls, including their pellets. 

If you're unfamiliar with owls, they are predators and eat small animals, primarily rodents, which they swallow whole. They can't digest the bones, fur, or feathers, so their gizzard (second stomach) compacts those parts into a pellet, which the owl coughs up. This clears room, so they can eat more. Scientists have long studied the pellets to get information about the owls and their environment. They are a favorite to use in classes, and there are companies that collect the pellets, sterilize them, and sell them for educational purposes. Armed with 30 of them, I set out to learn enough to lead a program.

I thought I had remembered that Wally and Theo had dissected owl pellets at school, so I asked them if they would like to help me. Wally said he didn't remember much about them and said no, thank you. Theo said he remembers everything about them, and no thank you! So, I read, watched videos, and began designing the project.

By the day of the event, I was well organized, even though I was not as knowledgeable as I would have liked. The kids were attentive and waited patiently through the announcements and procedure descriptions at the beginning.

Then I played the video*. I warned that they would see a mouse being eaten and a pellet being coughed up. The kids squealed squeamishly and yelled gross throughout much of the video. They were not sure what they had gotten themselves into (and some of the parents were not too sure either). Even though our pellets were dry and not squishy like the ones in the video, I had gloves and masks for those who wanted them. A big line formed immediately to get them.  

And then the dissection began. Despite their trepidation, every kid was into finding the bones in the pellet and guessing what the owl had eaten. One kid hoped to find a snake. Another younger child thought that he was finding dinosaur bones. Each participated in their own way. And surprisingly, I was able to answer most of the questions that were asked. Thank goodness they were so absorbed in finding the bones that they didn't ask many. 

The program was a success, and everyone, including me, learned something.

Here are two videos to watch if you want to know more. The first is an episode of Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs, where he collected owl pellets, and the second is a video about barn owls that goes over all the basics. (Barn owl pellets are the most commonly used for educational purposes because of their larger size. That's the kind we had.)

Dirty Jobs Owl Pellets

*Barn Owls

Unfortunately, taking pictures is not allowed in our buildings, so I don't have any to show you of the day.