Following the death of two Spotted Eagle Owls in the Randburg area, the Owl Rescue Centre says it has heard of a third death, the third in a period of five months.
According to the centre the three deaths were caused by suspected secondary poisoning.
Secondary poisoning occurs when an owl feeds on a rat that has consumed poison. The chemicals used to control mice and other rodents are being found in the livers of owls, causing some to die. The newer types of pesticides are anticoagulants and are used worldwide to control rodent populations by causing them to bleed to death. Bait laced with the chemicals is eaten by the rodents. The rodents may live for several days after eating the bait. The animals often display different behaviors after they are poisoned and may spend more time out in the open, making them vulnerable to predators, including owls and other raptors. Owls and other birds of prey are exposed to the chemicals in this way through their diet.
The centre’s Danelle Murray said, “We received a phone call from Cathy Ferrara of Studio Zoo in Kent Avenue informing us that yet another owl died on their premises. Studio Zoo installed an owl house to encourage owls to breed on their premises, and have lost three Spotted Eagle Owls in the past year due to suspected secondary poisoning.
Randburg resident Louis Potgieter also contacted the centre when he noticed that the family’s resident male Spotted Eagle Owl had been missing for over a week.
A family of Spotted Eagle Owls have been breeding in the Potgieters’ owl house for the past two years, and he recently noticed that the male is not returning with food to feed the female who is currently sitting on eggs.
Potgieter commented on the centre’s Facebook page, “I am distressed. Seems our male has disappeared. The female is in the box during the day and does not move off the eggs. At dusk she comes out, hooting the whole night through. She is definitely missing the male and I have not seen or heard him for more than a week now”.
The male is the provider of the family which means that this could have a devastating effect on this owl family. The centre will support feeding the female to help her during this time.
CEO S Technologies in Northwold kindly donated a copy machine to the centre for an awareness campaign in the area, and the centre plans to make everyone aware of this problem, and encourage them to make use of rat traps instead of poison.
Murray explained, “We offer a rat trap rental service to companies as a safe, humane and responsible solution for a rodent problem. The traps are serviced weekly to keep them clean and hygienic and to replace the bait inside the traps. The rodents are removed from the traps as often as required and used to feed to the owls that we care for in our centre”.
Details: www.facebook.com/OwlRescueCentre
