Hi Tweets

On Sat, 22 Mar 1997, Dan Victor wrote:
>I was talking to a guy there who described an owl killing a cat near Hood
>Canal. The owl apparently lifted the cat about 200 feet in the air and
>dropped it, as a method for killing it. Possibly a Great Horned? Have
>any of you heard of owls using this method?

This method has an implied intent which might take more brains than the
average owl's got behind those huge, all-the-better-to-see-you eyes; I'd
suggest the observation is more likely of an owl 200 feet up losing its grip.

Only time I ever saw a Great Horned Owl actually take prey was one dropping
on a large ginger tom strolling along a riverbank beneath some pines. Just
dropped on it like a be-taloned brick. The tom was dead before its chin hit
the ground. The owl couldn't lift the body but kind of hop-dragged it into
some shrubbery, then flew off when a guy and his dog came along. Since I was
already late for curfew (10 yrs old at the time), I hung around for just
another ten minutes but couldn't wait to see if the owl ever came back.
Happened in London, Ontario.

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net