Society
The owl that dines on pussy cat
Published 23 January 2006
Observations on wildlife
An obscure corner of the Yorkshire moors will soon be acquiring distinguished new residents. The first pair of eagle owls ever proved to have bred in the wild in Britain are about to add to their eight-year tally of 23 healthy offspring. But the rapture with which wildlife enthusiasts greeted the announcement two months ago of their hitherto secret presence is becoming tinged with disquiet.
For Bubo bubo, the world's largest owl, turns out to be the kind of creature that cannot just be added blithely to our avifauna, no questions asked. It is a ferocious monster, nine pounds in weight and with a two-yard wingspan. Though reports that it eats babies have yet to be substantiated, it certainly gobbles up cats. And more disturbingly for ecologists, it has also been found to savour some of the most illustrious of its fellow predators.
Restoring the populations of our birds of prey has been one of the great triumphs of British conservation. However, eagle owls apparently snap up buzzards, barn owls and even peregrine falcons - not only the most spectacular of all avian raptors, but also a species whose British population is globally important.
Some bird lovers are therefore coming to view the new arrivals with misgivings, and the question arises: do we really want them here?
No one will challenge their right of residence if their sudden appearance can be shown to be "natural". In recent years eagle owls have been expanding their European range. They have already colonised Holland, and the North Sea would not prove much of an obstacle to such powerful flyers. So the British birds could easily have made their way here under their own steam; and when it comes to wildlife, all such immigrants are applauded, not rebuffed.
On the other hand many owls, including Bubo bubo, are kept in captivity nowadays and such birds frequently escape. In these cases conservationists are not so accommodating: refugee status is not on offer. And should the Yorkshire duo turn out to have been released deliberately, they will be in even worse trouble - as much, perhaps, as human immigrants similarly found to have been trafficked illegally.
In fact, the origins of the newcomers are never likely to be known beyond doubt. DNA testing might establish that they are ethnically north European, but while this would make it likelier that they arrived here unaided, it would not make this certain. So the birds' supporters are trying to buttress their claim for indefinite leave to remain by proving they are indigenous. Eighteenth-century collectors' notebooks and even the fossil record are being energetically scrutinised for evidence that eagle owls lived in Britain in the past.
For the moment the owls seem to be getting the benefit of the doubt. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Hawk and Owl Trust are both cautiously welcoming the fearsome feathered tykes, so long as they are closely monitored.
This is perhaps wise. A dazzling cameo in the Harry Potter films may have won the eagle owl an unshakeable place in the public's affections. Tangling with this awesome creature might prove as unwise for conservationists as it doubtless will for incautious buzzards and cats.
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