Owl Pellets...Whoo Hoo!

Grade 5 is studying food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids.  We are dissecting owl pellets so we can see part of the food web in action.    An owl feeds early in the evening and regurgitate a single pellet approximately 20 hours after eating.  We know that owls swallow their prey whole and we are excited about what we are going to find.  Owls have a weak stomach muscle so they form wet slimy pellets out of undigested fur, feathers  and bones.  In the process even the most fragile bones are usually preserved unbroken.  We hope to see the skeleton remains of moles, mice, birds, rats and shrews.