The Burrowing Owl used to be a common sight on the Canadian prairies but since 1987, its population has dropped 96% and it has become an endangered animal species in Canada.
The Burrowing Owl is relatively small - meaning compared to its larger relatives, it is a small bird. They stand between 19 to 25 cm tall, and their wingspan is roughly 53 to 61 cm. A one-day-old Burrowing Owl weighs approximately the same as a pair of dice (8.2 grams). Fully grown at roughly five weeks old, it is about 150 grams to 170 grams (a little heavier than the weight of a hockey puck). It may be tiny, but these birds consume a lot! A single Burrowing Owl family can eat 1800 rodents and 7000 insects during one summer. They also eat frogs, small birds and salamanders. This bird is the only North American owl that nests in the ground. They are not able to dig their own homes - they have to rely on digging animals (foxes, ground squirrels or gophers) to do the work for them. Burrowing Owls migrate from the Canadian Prairies to the Gulf of Mexico every year… don’t we wish we could do the same every year?
Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Collection:
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AJAX
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Male
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Apr 20, 2013
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FRIEDA
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Female
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Apr 20, 2013
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How does the Assiniboine Park Zoo help Burrowing Owls?
The Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Program (MBORP) is a reintroduction, research, and educational organization that was established in 2010 to address the on-going decline of Burrowing Owls in southwestern Manitoba. The program began by reintroducing a small number of owl pairs in 2010 with cooperation from private landowners in southwestern Manitoba. MBORP also "holds back" some young from both wild and captive-released broods. This "brood reduction" is done to promote the survival of all young in nests. It creates less competition for food for young owls remaining in the wild which would increase the young owl’s fitness prior to migration; and avoidance of juvenile mortality during first year migration as young owls removed from broods are overwintered at the Assiniboine Park Zoo and reintroduced in pairs in the following breeding season. Assiniboine Park Zoo also supports burrowing owl genetic research and provides veterinary care.
Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Athene_cunicularia/#physical_description; http://www.mborp.ca