Owl furball ????

[Mike Williams]

How big are furballs/pellets from owls.?
Because this thing was found the other day in Lower hawkesbury.
It just seems to large for even a powerful owl to cough up...its just bones and what looks like fur from a macropod and sheep

[Shazzoir]

Hey Mike,

Powerful Owls which live in the coastal strip between Mackay and the SA border, are our largest owls (about 70cm tall with a wingspan of 140cm), but I wouldn't think them quite capable of disgorging pellets of this size - pellet size is normally 3cm to about 5cm in length. http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_f ... 930124.pdf


The fur could be from a possum, definitely one of their favoured food items, but the broken bones look too big - and owls can't chew, either. Were the bones broken or whole, do you know?

If the bones were broken up this would probably indicate the animal/s was not eaten whole and therefore, this is not be from an owl, monitor or other large lizard or snake - Lace Monitors have been recorded as disgorging whole rabbits.

Could this disgorged pellet be a hairball from a cat or other large chewing/toothed carnivore? Dogs including dingos, are not usually troubled with hairballs, everything just goes straight through. Cats however, are well known for hoicking up hairballs ('Doing the hairball Haka' - sorry any NZ folks, no offence intended).

Foxes will scavenge sheep carcases, but again, aren't known for coughing up hairballs.

The other alternative is that it's a scat, and the rain has washed all the 'biosolids' off, but it looks like a pellet to me, too Mike. Were there any insect carapaces or other stuff like feathers in it?

Very interesting nonetheless, and I look forward to seeing what others have to add.

Kind regards,
Shazz

[Mike Williams]

Hey Shaz

Were the bones broken or whole, do you know?

I cannot tell from the photos/anecdote..and the people have to opened the ball up.

Could this disgorged pellet be a hairball from a cat or other large chewing/toothed carnivore?

Yes..it is on the same property a cat is supposedly prnacing round.
But..it looks suspiciously like a form of large bird furball.
I have seen owl pellets in pine plantations in Victoria that I stupidly thought were cat scats..err..cat fur balls..

The other alternative is that it's a scat, and the rain has washed all the 'biosolids' off, but it looks like a pellet to me, too Mike. Were there any insect carapaces or other stuff like feathers in it?

It looks too clean for a scat and it is pretty fresh..the person with it watched a "worm" of some sort come out of the middle and look around.AS far as I know..there were no feathers or insect carcasses..the biologists I have emailed have started to reply and most said it looked like an eagle pellet..

Mike

[Shazzoir]

Yep, the eagle pellet makes sense. Cats don't normally eat bones that big, so I'm eliminating cat furball from the equation. Most of a cat hairball is, well, fur.

Interesting thread, thanks, Mike.

Shazz