The owl pellet economy: Meet the entrepreneurs who've devoted their lives to bird vomit

[mahatmakanejeeves]

From 2020:

Business

The owl pellet economy: Meet the entrepreneurs who’ve devoted their lives to bird vomit

Entrepreneurs in Washington and Oregon build an industry of fur and bone, reaching labs and classrooms around the world.



A barn owl looks for a place to roost moments after its release. (Les Winkeler/AP)

By Christopher Ingraham
August 26, 2020

Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, a barn owl has just eaten a mouse. ... Twelve hours from now, give or take, it will regurgitate a compact mass of fur and bones known as an owl pellet. The pellet will contain a near-perfect skeleton of the devoured rodent and a treasure trove of data for researchers, providing insights on the owl, its prey and the environment in which it lives.

Grade-school teachers use them to teach basic biological concepts. College students might be assigned to reassemble entire skeletons. Scientists use them to track prey animal populations and monitor pollutant levels.

How that pellet makes it from the gut of an owl and into a classroom begins with a wet “plop” as it hits the forest floor, setting off an unusual supply chain that stretches from the wooded expanses of the West Coast to schools, museums and research laboratories around the world, fueling an entire industry of people who’ve devoted their lives and livelihoods to this unique economic and ecological niche.

One-of-a-kind science project

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Genia Connell, a third-grade teacher at Leonard Elementary School in Troy, Mich., says she uses owl pellets as part of her life science curriculum. ... “When the kids begin dissecting the pellets, they become so engaged and so vested in discovering what ‘their’ owl ate and comparing their findings with classmates,” Connell said. “If you’re that kid who discovers their owl ate three or four different animals in a single pellet, well then you automatically get hero status among the other 8-year-olds, at least for the hour!”

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Fifth-graders dissect owl pellets in a science class at Excel Academy Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

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By Christopher Ingraham
Christopher Ingraham was a reporter on The Post’s business desk from 2014 to 2021. He currently writes the Why Axis, a newsletter about the data shaping and informing our lives. Twitter https://twitter.com/_cingraham

PFFlyer54 | 1 year ago

Whole article, and no actual picture of an actual pellet?!? So here's a picture:

https://www.naturallynorthidaho.com/2015/11/owl-pellets-provide-clues-to-owls-diet.htm


But fun to know. In fact, you can buy a science project kit for your kids

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/owl-puke-science-kit/5256572?skuId=66538028&mcid=PS_googlepla

[Karadeniz]

1. Fabulous teaching idea!!!

[ShazzieB]

2. My daughter did this in grade school.

She loved it, and I was envious.

[StarryNite]

3. I was just picking through an owl pellet the other day.

I was showing my 5 year old grandson the tiny bones in it. He said the owls can't digest them. I said, yup, you're right!