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introduces students to the basic arrangement of a mammalian skeleton. For this exercise,
students find as many bones of a prey animal as they can in their owl pellet. A larger
animal such as a gopher, rat, or vole works best. A line of glue is run down the
center of a piece of paper. Students attach the skull at the top of this line. The
vertebrae and pelvic girdle fill in from the skull to the tip of the tail. Students glue
mandibles on either side of the skull and add legs and ribs along the spinal flanks. The
end result is not museum quality and probably has some mis-arranged pieces, but the basic
perspective and arrangements have been conveyed. This also gives many students a prized
souvenir. Other activities include studying owl anatomy, learning about regional variations in diet, understanding niche use by different species of owls, and building a Barn Owl nest box as a class project. Many of these topics are addressed in the introductory video entitled The Barn Owl: An Introduction to Owl Pellet Labs. Hand-outs for making clip-art food webs, studying owl anatomy, identifying |
pellet contents through keys and comparison, learning the skeletal anatomy of the vole and shrew, studying regional differences in diet, and several other activities are available in the Resource Manual for Owl Pellet Labs. As educators, we love the fact that owl pellets teach ecological concepts such as food webs, niches, foraging strategy, and biological diversity. They also introduce students to the basics of anatomy and physiology. But students love owl pellets because they present a hands-on approach to solving a mystery. Owl pellets represent the unknown and unexplored. They combine the intrigue of an unopened gift, the challenge of a puzzle, and the potential of a model—all in one little package. And to think, I almost left them unexplored—at least for one more day. |
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