Class Response: Owl Pellets

Owl pellets are undigested parts of an owl that they regurgitate. They can contain the bird's undigested parts from its diet. The owl's pellet includes skeletons of various rodents to small cats. The size of the prey depends on the size of the predator. In class today, we received our owl pellets which were covered in tin foil. First, we opened up the foil which contained the pellets. Then we measured and weighed the pellets. After that, my lab partner Mike and I dissected the bones and fur from the pellets. Next, we discovered that our pellet contained a rodent. And finally, we looked into our packets and tried to identify the type of bones we had from the pellet. In class, we learned that a pellet can have more than one skull which meant that there might be more than one rodent in the pellet. Komal's and David's pellet had three skulls and I was amazed that such a small pellet could hold so much!