Sometimes the cutest owl chicks do less-than-adorable (but still fascinating) things. Check out this video of what looks like the Great Horned Owl chick ripping apart a rodent. Experts from the Owl Research Institute informs us further:
“It appears that the female Great Horned Owl (GHO) supervises as the owlet eats a small mammal, most likely one of 2 species of voles in the area, the Montane Vole and the Meadow Vole. These are the most abundant of the small mammals that are potential prey of GHOs. The owls will also occasionally feed on pocket gophers, mice, shrews, and other small-to-medium mammals.
Owls have relatively week stomach acid which doesn’t break down fur and bones from their prey. The soft tissue is broken down and digested, but the indigestible material is packed into a pellet and regurgitated.”
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