Owl Pellet Dissection - Science World

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Dissect an owl pellet and reconstruct the bones of the owl’s regurgitated waste.
Explain how scientist can determine what an animal eats by examining its waste.

Per Group: 1 pair of gloves dissection tray containing: Owl pellet*, Probe, Tweezers index card or paper plate on which to glue the various bones extracted from the pellet paste skeletal diagrams of some typical owl prey. Some are available at Barn Owl Trust or Owl Brand Discovery Kits. magnifier (optional)

*Owl pellets are available through online educational supply stores such as Boreal, or at your nearest owl sanctuary. They have been dried and gassed to kill all bacteria and parasites and are perfectly safe to touch.

Discuss what an owl pellet is and predict what might be found inside before distributing the pellets, dissection tools and gloves.
Dissect the pellets carefully.

Observe that the pellets are composed of both fur and bones of the prey.
Pull the bones out ofthe compacted fur.
Sort the bones by type (skulls,ribs, vertebrae, leg bones).
Decide how many prey animals are present. Note that there may only be one.
Try to sort the bones to go with each skull found, using the skeletal diagrams as a guide.

Glue the bones to the card, one card for each animal, labeling the bones if possible.
Compare the types of prey found in each groups’ owl pellet and discusswhatwe can learn about the owl’s diet, behaviour and environment.

Take students to an owl sanctuary (or OWL rehabilitation center) and observe these wonderful creatures in the wild (or semi wild) environment.
Discuss prey species further: What prey species are local? What can their frequency in the owl pellets tell you about the prey? Why is difficult to tell species apart from bones, when they normally look very different?

Barn Owl Trust | Barn Owl Science PDF & Barn Owl pellet analysis

Audubon | What is an Owl Pellet?