Owl Pellets

One week ago at school, our class got to do something really cool. We got to dissect owl pellets. I know what you’re thinking… “You dissected owl poop?” Well, actually, an owl pellet is a mass of bones, teeth, hair, feathers, and exoskeletons from different animals that the owl has regurgitated. Because an owl eats its prey whole, it can’t digest all that stuff, so it brings it back up. About 20 hours after eating, the owl produces a single pellet. In the process of making the owl pellet, even the most fragile bones are preserved. Oh, and just to let you know, the owl pellets that we dissected were sterilized. I washed my hands just in case though. (I just wanted to tell you that so the next time I go to shake your hand you don’t freak out. Just kidding! ) Below, is a picture of some of the bones I found in the owl pellet I dissected. Most likely, these are from voles or other small creatures.

I hope you enjoyed my article and maybe even learned something new! Keep looking for more KIDS CORNER articles! Bye for now!

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Comments

Owl Pellets — 3 Comments

  1. Wow! Thanks for teaching me something I never even heard of. Very
    interesting!!! Also, thanks for making sure you washed your hands 🙂