For those of you who followed our Barn Owls
story, you might be dying to hear how they are doing. Our little chicks are all grown-up and
starting to gain the birds of prey instinct that we so diligently have tried to
expose them to.
We see this when they receive food. Whenever we start feeding them they start
hissing and stamping their feet aggressively.
This is a sign of dominance as they would usually take the mice that they
catch and beat them on the ground with their claws until they die. This is a very gruesome way of killing but we
must remember that these are wild birds of prey which can become just as
violently aggressive as a predator such as a lion. They also swing their heads from side to side
to try and intimidate those around. It
is a very interesting process to watch as they brutally attack their food
without mercy. And yet they do it so
gracefully and beautiful that it’s hard to look away.
They have become more beautiful by the day
and now look like fully grown adult Barn Owls.
The only difference is that they are a little smaller in size than a
fully grown owl.
They have much fuller rounder faces now with
that perfect heart shape
All
their down has gone, now it’s only the beautiful brown, grey and white soft
feathers that remain.
On
your next visit to Ubizane, feel free to ask us about the progress of the owls!
