These Barn Owls have been rescued and rehabilitated by Owl Rescue Centre and now live in the sanctuary. On this night, an unwelcome visitor pitched up to get a taste of their lavish lifestyle.
This could have ended very badly if the cat had gotten inside the box, or if the owls were a larger or more aggressive species. Domestic cats are responsible for a massive decline in bird populations, and I have no doubt that if there had been unattended owlets in the box, they would have been toast. Similarly, the cat would have been toast if it had decided to investigate a great horned owl nest. Keep your cats inside, people. It's safer for them, and for wildlife.
While it is true cats have had an impact, it seems to be critical now because the bird population is so very very low. Diseases have had an impact but NOTHING COMPARES TO THE POISON TO THE ENVIRONMENT in the factors of bird loss. Even 40 odd years ago there were enough crows to have an impact on the corn harvest....think about that for a minute. I haven't seen more than 25 crows together in one spot in over 10 yrs in wisconsin and I once saw about a MILLION in the trees in '73. Cats didnt kill all these birds...we did.
@@marygonzalez5907 Keep pet cats indoors, say researchers who found they kill 230m native animals each year. Domestic cats are killing an estimated 230m native birds, reptiles and mammals every year, according to new research that quantifies the pet's national toll on native animals for the first time. Poison does have a small impact in the loss of native Fauna.
@@egdiryellam68 the coyotes and fisher cats eat the cats in our area. The pollution takes care of the birds. Be nice if Boston brought in hawks and owls into the city it would help alleviate the rat problem.
It really doesn't look like the cat was interested in the owls at all (actually looked pretty scared of them). Guess the lure of a free mouse meal was too tempting to not risk.
Yeah, the talons of the owl could rip the cat apart good. One good grab by an owl and the cat wouldn't make that mistake again. But, you could tell that the cat was just eyeballing the owl's quarry and didn't want to mess with the owl. The cat was obviously just waiting for his chance to steal the dead rodents. He certainly gobbled them up quickly. Just like the owl, cats are born rodent killers.
Great video! Thank you for sharing! I can't stop watching these types of nature videos. That's a big owl box (for Barn or Screech Owls) ... and that hole is quite large for those sizes of owls, but nicely made. It seems more suited (size) for a Great Horned Owl.
@@noname-sk3hl Urban densification and habitat destruction, human cutting mature trees by the dozens are 100 times more efficient than cats in destroying bird (and other small wildlife) populations. I know it because I have been a witness of this situation for the past 10 years. At least 15 mature trees have been destroyed in a radius of 50 meters from my home. And this still continues.
@@noname-sk3hl And these newcommers from the city will install a birdfeeder with sunflower coming from monocultures. They will swear at the cats who try to catch "their birds" that have no need for being fed by humans.
@@marcbergeron8690 that doesnt mean two wrongs are better. Ffs man of course human eco destruction is the main culprit. Arguing that your point is more substantial is ridiculous when someone posts a valid point. Domestics cats definitely affect bird populations. Thanks Noname for pointing that out.
...true..I come from a rural area and barn owls are too small to fight any cat...maybe a baby kitten , but kittens should not be out at night, I would say.
The only good cat is a dead cat. Ferrell cats are responsible for untold carnage and undue pressure on the ecological systems. Here kitty kitty....BANG!...Plop
@@joelgeiser675 As brutal as your words are, you are telling the truth about domestic cats killing insane numbers of small wild animals across the Planet (at least feral cats eat their prey.....but they shouldn't be feral, we fucked up!), but it's not their fault it's ours......if they are domestic then a responsible owner has some options (yeah right, go to work, leave the cat flap open)........as for feral (domestic) cats we have to have the conversation about what is more important?, the collapse of the natural world?.........or culling feral cats.........once again, Humans being selfish pricks and causing carnage (that they can't even see), yippee!
The woods behind my house was a natural habitat for barn owls and eventually found my cats to be a meal.... I lost two beloved fur baby's to these birds of prey and so happy we moved from that area.... A couple of other people lost their tiny pet dogs to the owls.... So always know your predator situation in your area if you have pets that go outside
Don't forget that cats and dogs eat meat too slaughter houses aren't pretty sights....cats will kill small animals and tourture them..so will dogs..nature is very cruel but then again..so are people...just saying....
@@blueforest2927 My cats and small dogs only go out in catio's now due to my past experiences with the owls..... These pets I have now have never been outside until a few months ago when we finished the catio so no blood on their paws lol..... Cruelty to animals is not acceptable in any language
Seems like some mitigation is needed for this owl box to keep other predators off that roof and away from this box. Also-- is there usually a spotlight on this box at night? Infrared would be best -- what most nest cams use for night
@@b.l.9764 as you are right in the sense they don't prey on cats they most certainly can and will kill a cat if threatened. i would say going into their house is a threat and it could have went bad for that cat, barn owls usually always prey on roadants and even kittens but like i said and from experience seeing it with my own eyes, barn owls can and will kill an adult cat. then eat it as it will eat what it kills.
Considering that barn owls are regularly killed by foxes and that the barn owls are actually very small then i’m afraid that a cat will most definitely not lose against a barn owl
@@azza1793 glad you witnessed a cat killing a barn owl to clear this up for us all... oh wait, you havent, i have witnessed 3 times now a barn owl killing a cat, so lets see, you just saying and me experiencing it, who to believe,,, hmmmm , what a delema
I've seen so many poorly designed houses for animals. Why? When I was a kid, I used to read plans for different Bird, and Animal houses, that told you how to make them such that they weren't easy for Predators to get into.
@@pegleg2959 Each situation is different. It depends on the threats, and the needs of what you are trying to protect. Sometimes, it's just a matter of making the entry hole just big enough for the animal being protected, while also possibly not adding a perch that a predator can sit on. Sometimes it's a matter of adding a shield to a post to prevent mammals from being able to climb it. So: 1. Entry hole just big enough for the resident 2. No perch unless necessary 3. Shielding against climbing mammal predators. Those were the 3 most common strategies I saw for birds, and in Ohio where I grew up in the 60s and 70s, I saw many bird houses employing all 3 strategies...usually on poles away from trees. But any strategy that identifies the needs of the resident, and the threats to the resident, and addresses them, should work. The place to start might be the local wildlife agency, to see if they know anything. The hardest info to find, will likely be the entryway size. Just big enough, is just right. The smaller the entry, the better, because predators are typically larger then their prey...not always, but usually they are.
Too many destructive cats allowed to roam by thoughtless owners. You love how the cat went in???! Would you love it too if the fledgling owls starved to death because the cat was stealing their food? Cats kill many birds too.
@@hazel555 Not to mention millions of feral cats living miserable lives on the edge and producing more to do the same all across the country. It's a big problem. They are not bad animals; they're just doing what cats do and trying to survive. We tried catch, neuter and release in my town, but it doesn't make much of a dent.
@@hazel555 yes, I do like how the cat went in. I was surprised because it wasn't showing any fear, it was like it was in its own house. I don't like seeing any animals get harmed, but natural instinct is natural. Unless you train them like I did. My cat was trained not to go after any rodents, birds because she doesn't need them to eat because I fed her. Her pet cam proved it.
@@TDL-xg5nn Why should a domestic house cat kill and devour baby owls? The cat owner shouldn’t be allowing this, feed the damn thing and know what it’s doing. If up to me then, simply put, I say keep the baby owls - lose the cat. Sorry if that sounds harsh, I just believe in responsible pet ownership. A wild fox? I’m still not loving it but that’s nature.
@@teofilstevenson he's literally just eating leftovers. And clearly the owls are pretty capable of defending themselves... there's a reason they stay in the nests with small chicks.
@@teofilstevenson It wasn't owl chick, the cat just stole some food from them. The 3 whiter ones are the chicks and whatever the cat had was pretty small.
The owl that lives on my property would probably eat a cat. I would say it is close to 3 times the size of these owls. Rarely do I ever see him but the night I was driving home and it flew in front of my car gave me a pretty good idea of how large he is. I do hear him most nights. Of course that cat would be in trouble in the day for sure. I know the hawk that lives directly above my house would eat it. Don’t ask me what type they are because I have no clue. The owl looks dark in color but hard to tell at night. The hawk is kind of grayish white with some brown highlights and he is seasonal. Only see it about half the year. Not sure where he goes for the other half.
My oldest male cat adopted a kitten and taught her to hunt, just like a mama cat would. His efforts paid off handsomely -- the female kitten grew up and spent years happily hunting, then bringing her kills to her mentor, who promptly ate them. What a team!
That cat is obviously a feral one, not a house pet. I have two cats that will kill mice, but won’t eat them, as they’re not hungry. That cat was very thin and very hungry.
All joke comments apart......you were very lucky this hunter never wiped our all these fabulous birds out.....Be smart ,and take/make better defences,believe me.....I know what these cats are capable of......!!!!!! 🤞
This clearly shows what a destructive menace domestic/feral cats are for a wildlife! I hope some repair on the roof of that house is done to prevent such events or even better: if cat is feral/stray - catch it!
The cats are not the menace, the humans that treat cats in an irresponsible manner are. Anyone who is concerned about the impact that domestic cats have on wildlife, should do what they can to support TNR programs, to encourage people to spay/neuter their own cats, and to discourage the deliberate breeding of cats, commercial or not. We have massive cat overpoulations on every continent except Antarctica, and this has detrimental consequences for both the cats and wildlife. If the only cats that existed were truly loved and well taken care of pets, the numbers would be so small that the effects on wildlife would be bearable. So instead of blaming cats, blame humans, who choose to not take the path of humanely but effectively reducing the cat population.
@@saras7563 Even as someone who has dedicated the last two decades of her life to helping and caring for cats, which means that I love them dearly and wish I had nothing bad to say about them, I have to tell you that that is entirely untrue. There is currently not a single place on earth where domestic cats do a good job at keeping nature in balance.
@@justacatwhocantype Your comment basically confirms what I'm saying, I've never played a " blame an animal" card! That's just how the cats behave, they kill even if well fed, for fun/exercise, in many cases don't even eat the pray! The autochtonous wild cats are in very small numbers and present no major impact on wildlife!
@@saras7563 Do you know anything about the impact that free-roaming cats have on the environment? You clearly have no idea what you're talking about because what you say is absolutely untrue. Please try educating yourself and then come talk. Free-roaming cats are not only a nuisance and destructive to the wildlife in the surrounding areas in which they reside, but they are a nuisance to the neighbors and the neighbors property. Have you ever owned cats? Because cats are destructive inside their own houses so what do you think they would do to the outside environment?🤦♀️ I have an 11 month old kitten and I'll be getting another kitten in 2 months and I have never allowed my cats outside and I never will, because I am a responsible cat owner. I do not condone cat owners allowing their cats outside and there should be a law to prevent owners from doing this to begin with. Maybe a fine or jail time.
sorry for my lack of knowledge about Owls but were those young owls that were perched at the round entrance to the box? And were mice being brought to them by a parent, and left on the 'porch' for them? The young owls didn't seem that interested.
Probably being older they weren't growing as fast and needed less food but the parents overdid it to stay on the safe side? (Just a wild guess here) Those werent mice tho but dead chicks so maybe they just killed a whole nest of them and brought them home.
@@Badtz2 I think the owls are programmed to bring back as much as they can without killing themselves, and this is a rich environment for rodents. I didn't see dead chicks. I saw rodents. The large chicks are apparently able to fly. The cat entered an empty nest. When there were owls inside, the owl stood off the cat.
My heart sank when I saw the little cat chirping on the owls roof. I love cats and owls are know to kill them. My tiny chihuahua was almost attacked by an owl. I don’t blame the owls, they just do what owls do. 🥴
My neighbor has cats they let roam the neighborhood. In one summer we captured 17 for the no kill shelter. They killed 2 birds at my feeders last year so this year they will be caught again.
Cats are supposed to roam the neighborhood. They're not meant to be cooped up inside four walls with a window to look out into their world they're supposed to live in.
@@br5747 maybe in your neighborhood. In my county they are on the same leash law as dogs. These same neighbors have 3 dogs that were left outside without a dog house in a tropical storm. The law was called and he made them put the dogs on the enclosed porch. They SHOULD NOT HAVE PETS! Period.
Yes, it would be nice to know the answer after watching all of that, lol, ;) Love the owls and the cat, and I guess will assume that the cat was a good cat and left them alone...
@@thehonorablejiveturkey6068 ....I'm thinking the same thing, owls were out of the box when the cat went inside. Otherwise there would've been a lot of commotion, lol!
@@meadow2501 No such thing as a "good cat" when it is outside. Love cats and dogs, but, I am a serious birder. Cats are not native and should be exterminated when on the loose. I have 4 cavity nests and multiple feeders. Cat's health is in severe danger when it comes into my yard.
I’m surprised the cat didn’t eat the Owl babies. Not sure a barn owl could take a cat, maybe a huge hawk and certainly an eagle but a cat is bad news. And they eat more song birds, quail , Turkey young, ducks, rabbits, chipmunks, and young mammals of every description than all the natural predators combined including: foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls, raccoons, Bob cats , mink , otter etc. In many counties across the US they have wiped out whole populations of native species. They have a 90 percent success rate and are the most efficient predator on earth. Way , way to many Ferrell cats.
Yes, the owl rescue centre has done a piss poor job of creating a safe artificial home for barn owls. Thanks for sharing the evidence of your incompetence.
