Subject: Re [Tweeters] Do Raptors Really Pose a Threat to Pets?
Date: Jan 29 12:28:42 2010
From: Jim Greaves - lbviman at blackfoot.net


There are other raptors that can, I believe, at least kill (if not
also transport) prey larger than themselves: hence the old names
"Duck Hawk", "Pigeon Hawk", "Sparrow Hawk" [Peregrine, Merlin,
Kestrel] - I saw a female kestrel kill a female cardinal at a feeder
one icy day back in Virginia (in the 1980's), but not sure of
relative weights [kestrel hungry, cardinal well-fed] - but those were
desperate days - ice several inches thick on the ground likely
impeded voles, moles or other small prey from accessibility for about
a week... I wager the coot I saw killed by a juvenile Peregrine
approached if not exceeded the weight of the Peregrine, given that
water birds contain much denser fat, bone, and muscle than "aerial"
birds. Also, let's not forget "lift" - the long powerful wings of
many raptors, for instance especially a Great-horned owl, can throw
even a 140+ pound human off balance though clutching its tarsi
tightly! Small feat, it seems to me, to be able/capable of a 5-10
pound raptor taking off with a 6-15 pound (or heavier) prey "item"...
As for pets (cats, especially) being vulnerable, only "reliable"
reports I have are of Golden Eagle taking same; but RThawks regularly
kill chickens (hence their old epithet "Chicken Hawk"), and some
chickens are HUGE. Also, there was much controversy in the 1970's or
1980's about whether or not Golden eagle would/could take or kill
lambs. Controversy, that is, until one was shown in photos doing just
that... Watch your toddlers! :-) - Jim Greaves, MT

At 01:01 PM 1/29/2010, tweeters-request at mailman2.u.washington.edu wrote:
>A perusal of some of the more reputable raptor websites (where did they get
>their data?) state that Red-Tailed Hawks can carry one-half their body
>weight, Eagles one-third, and owls two to three times their body weights! If
>anyone knows of any hard data about owls carrying that amount, I'd like to
>see it. My only experience was with an 82gram Saw-Whet Owl which had killed
>a 21gram Song Sparrow and couldn't drag it off the road, let alone become
>airborne. It is a well-known fact (?) that Great-Horned Owls can kill and
>carry striped skunks. Can a three pound owl really carry a ten pound skunk
>to its nest or do they selectively pick on smaller skunks? I've regularly
>seen larger hawks and owls carrying the local Eastern Cottontail rabbits.