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Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects --_080f11d2-21a3-4d0a-8fdf-dc3463afc861_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello Randy et al., =20 While driving at night I have occasionally flushed an owl from a roadkill= , and when I have been able to see it well enough to identify, it has alway= s been a Great Horned Owl. I seem to recall hearing that this was about th= e only species that would feed on dead skunks (probably from Tufts or Cyril= Coldwell). Scavenging must be either uncommon for it or little documented= , however, as I recall being surprised years ago by reading a report of one= feeding on a roadkill as a note in the Canadian Field-Naturalist by a well= -known ornithologist (Godfrey if I remember correctly). My surprise was th= at he considered it noteworthy enough to publish. Wayne Neily Tremont, Kings Co., Nova Scotia "In nature's infinite book of s= ecrecy A little I can read." - William Shakespeare, 1607.=20 =20 Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2008 17:42:37 -0400From: randy.lauff@gmail.comTo: naturens= @chebucto.ns.caSubject: Re: [NatureNS] scat or pellet I don't think I've ever heard of an owl scavenging, I can ask around of my = owly colleagues. Certainly owls can be trained to scavenge (in captive sett= ings, they're almost always fed on dead stuff), but it's not, as far as I k= now, in their typical repertoire. =20 I don't know a whole lot about cats (anatomically, I do, but not much else)= , but what I do know is that their teeth are not well adapted for crushing = a bone...I've heard that because of this, they tend to eat around the bones= , but generally do not eat the bones themselves; this is in direct contrast= with dogs which do have molars adapted for crushing. Cat teeth are only ad= apted for nipping, piercing, holding and slicing. Could you cut a bone with= a pair of scissors? Sure, but not effectively. =20 Randy=20 On 04/02/2008, David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:=20 Hi All, If an owl will take roadkill then the fractured bones would not b= ediagnostic. Will they ?DWAndy Moir/Chris Callaghan wrote:> Randy Lauff was= kind enough to put my photo on his website. The link> is below. So far, = no definite conclusion. Could be an owl, possibly a> bobcat, or coyote. An= y other thoughts would be appreciated.>> Andy>>>> Hi Andy,>>>> http://peopl= e.stfx.ca/rlauff/photos/scat_or_pellet.jpg>>>> There's the link. I'm certai= nly tempted to say it's a pellet from a GH> Owl...no other NS owls take adu= lt rabbits (routinely anyway), and that> prominent bone fragment does not s= uggest any other white mammal.>>>> There does not appear to be any faeces i= n it...just bone and fur (and> fresh-looking fur at that).>>>> The only thi= n that bothers me somewhat is the fractured bone...owls> aren't good at doi= ng that. It doesn't rule out an owl pellet by any> means, but it's somethin= g to think about.>>>> Randy>> Antigonish County, NS.>-- Randy______________= ___________________RF LauffWay in the boonies ofAntigonish County, NS.=20 _________________________________________________________________ --_080f11d2-21a3-4d0a-8fdf-dc3463afc861_ Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html> <head> <style> .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } </style> </head> <body class=3D'hmmessage'> Hello Randy et al.,<BR> <BR> While driving at night I have occasionally flushed an owl from a roa= dkill, and when I have been able to see it well enough to identify, it has = always been a Great Horned Owl. I seem to recall hearing that this wa= s about the only species that would feed on dead skunks (probably from Tuft= s or Cyril Coldwell). Scavenging must be either uncommon for it or li= ttle documented, however, as I recall being surprised years ago by rea= ding a report of one feeding on a roadkill as a note in the <EM>Canadian Fi= eld-Naturalist </EM>by a well-known ornithologist (Godfrey if I remember co= rrectly). My surprise was that he considered it noteworthy enough to = publish.<BR><BR> <DIV>Wayne Neily <BR>Tremont, Kings Co., Nova Scotia <BR><BR>"In nature's i= nfinite book of secrecy <BR>A little I can read." - William Shakespeare, 16= 07. <BR></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <HR> </DIV> <DIV>Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2008 17:42:37 -0400<BR>From: randy.lauff@gmail.com<BR= >To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca<BR>Subject: Re: [NatureNS] scat or pellet<BR><= BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV>I don't think I've ever heard of an owl scavenging, I can ask around o= f my owly colleagues. Certainly owls can be trained to scavenge (in captive= settings, they're almost always fed on dead stuff), but it's not, as far a= s I know, in their typical repertoire.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't know a whole lot about cats (anatomically, I do, but not much = else), but what I do know is that their teeth are not well adapted for crus= hing a bone...I've heard that because of this, they tend to eat around the = bones, but generally do not eat the bones themselves; this is in direct con= trast with dogs which do have molars adapted for crushing. Cat teeth are on= ly adapted for nipping, piercing, holding and slicing. Could you cut a bone= with a pair of scissors? Sure, but not effectively.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Randy<BR><BR> </DIV> <DIV><SPAN class=3DEC_gmail_quote>On 04/02/2008, <B class=3DEC_gmail_sender= name>David & Alison Webster</B> <<A href=3D"mailto:dwebster@glinx.co= m">dwebster@glinx.com</A>> wrote:</SPAN>=20 <BLOCKQUOTE class=3DEC_gmail_quote style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; BORDER-LEFT:= #ccc 1px solid">Hi All,<BR> If an owl will take roadkill then = the fractured bones would not be<BR>diagnostic. Will they ?<BR>DW<BR><BR>An= dy Moir/Chris Callaghan wrote:<BR><BR>> Randy Lauff was kind enough to p= ut my photo on his website. The link<BR>> is below. &nbs= p;So far, no definite conclusion. Could be an owl, possibly a<BR>> bobca= t, or coyote. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.<BR>><B= R>> Andy<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> Hi Andy,<BR>><BR>><BR>>= ;<BR>> <A href=3D"http://people.stfx.ca/rlauff/photos/scat_or_pellet.jpg= " target=3D_blank>http://people.stfx.ca/rlauff/photos/scat_or_pellet.jpg</A= ><BR>><BR>><BR>&