Highly unlikely that owls are reason for missing pets

Date: 02 December 2017 By: Isabel Venter

Louis Trichardt is still, sporadically, haunted by strange cat disappearances.

The past year, the Zoutpansberger has on several occasions reported about cats going missing. In most of the cases, the cats went missing around the practice of Dr Pieter de Wet in President Street. They were stray cats that formed part of the local TrapNeuterReturn (TNR) project. There were, however, also reports of domestic cats going missing.

Many theories have since been put forward to explain the missing cats. Some believed that the cats were abducted by people who wanted to “adopt” a cat for free. Others connected the missing cats with Halloween which is celebrated in October. It was, however, not only cats that went missing. There were also plenty of dogs reported missing.

But could it be that the culprit is something else completely - one that swoops down on helpless pets under the cover of darkness?

Owls are known for their amazing strength, enabling them to take down prey that outweigh them, especially at night.

But would they target house pets? A quick search on the Internet makes note of only a handful of isolated incidents. One even showed a rare photograph of a Hoot Owl, in America’s Minnesota, busy taking off with a cat in its talons. (reported in the DailyMail in 2012).

Local bird experts, however, believe this is very unlikely to happen here in Louis Trichardt.

Geoff Goetsch, bird watcher and member of Soutpansberg BirdLife, said that the Spotted Eagle-Owl, Tawny Owl and Barn Owl are regular visitors to town. They are all medium-sized owl species (nowhere near as big as its American cousin) with the Spotted Eagle being the smallest of the three. It has a length of 45 cm, a weight that varies from 454g to 907g and a wing span of 100cm to 140 cm.

With all three being small birds of prey, it means that they would not have the strength to carry of a cat or dog as prey, especially if the pets are already fully grown.

According to Goetsch, these owls usually prey on small rodents, reptiles and frogs. “If there is a bird that is strong enough to catch a cat it will be the Crown Eagle. They are strong enough to catch prey as big as a baby bush buck,” said Goetsch.

Goetsch believes there are other so-called culprits that might explain the many missing pets. Especially with the cats, Goetsch believes that they are being poisoned. A fellow birder, Mr Barry Fourie, backed up this claim. According to Fourie, there is currently a serious rodent pestilence in Louis Trichardt’s industrial area. “People put out poison to deal with the rats and this can lead to second-hand deaths when especially cats eat these rats,” explained Fourie.

Goetsch said that these poisoned rats can, in turn, also have a negative impact on the local owl population. “Owls are actually very nice to have around as they keep the rat and snake populations in check,” he explained.

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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