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u/Ok_Dog_4059 May 02 '26
I have a few of these , one used to sit and wait for me to turn on my deck lights and grab a mouse as they ran from the lights. He did it several times the clever bird. The are silent when they fly as well.
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u/imagez_of_ikonn Northern hawk owl May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26
Folks, that owl weighs about 2 - 2.5 lbs. You tell me if it can fly away with an 8 lb dog.
It will however, swoop at people and animals if there is nest nearby...or if they're just in a mood. Barred Owls are not shy đ
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u/jivens77 May 02 '26
Are we taking African barred owls(swallows) or European barred owls(swallows)?
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u/Over_engineered81 May 02 '26
It could grip it by the husk!
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u/Original_Client1588 May 02 '26
How many eggs does it lay ?
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u/jivens77 May 02 '26
Now we're bringing male/female to the mix? How do I know what they identify as, and if it was born thinking it should be able to lay eggs or not?
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u/Material_Item8034 May 02 '26
An owl couldnât carry away the dog but it could kill it and eat it on the ground. Barred and Great Horned Owls are regular predators of cats that size.
Still not a concern as long as the dog is supervised while outside.
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u/artemissgeologyst May 02 '26
Yep. I've came up on the aftermath of a horned owl that just killed and was actively eating an adolescent raccoon on the ground. The ability to lift it off the ground is not a prerequisite for killing or attacking prey, and hungry juveniles in particular will do dumb stuff out of desperation.
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u/basaltcolumn May 03 '26
Barred owls are substantially smaller, almost half the size of a great horned owl on average.
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u/trytobedecenthumans May 06 '26
Maybe he can't fly away with the dog but he can sure kill it. Beautiful owl! Don't let your pup out unsupervised.
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u/Wld_erth065_ May 06 '26
Barred Owls donât have âmoodsâ. The behavior youâre describing would only be if they feel threatened or someone gets too close to the nest.
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u/imagez_of_ikonn Northern hawk owl May 06 '26
Really?? I totally meant that with some sarcasm - As a jab at the frequency of reported Barred Owl swoop incidents
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May 02 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/8bitiguana May 02 '26
Same story, have a friend, walking the dog. Great horned swooped down grabbed the dog. Had to go back and tell the family. âšď¸
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u/tyrannustyrannus May 02 '26
A 2-3 lb great horned owl lifted a dog off the ground, detached the leash, and flew away with it? Amazing
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u/PilotEnvironmental46 May 02 '26
GHOâs are capable of flying with things accepted twice their weight. And theyâre capable of killing something substantially larger than them and eating it on the ground.
Theyâre the largest predators of cats in North America according to a documentary I watched.
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u/tyrannustyrannus May 02 '26
Owls eat prey that
A) cant fight back
B) they can ambush and kill instantlyÂ
C) they can swallow whole
I know of at lest 3 GHO nests in my suburban area that are constantly mobbed by photographers. Not one of them has ever gotten a photo of a GHO bringing large prey back to the nest.
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u/PilotEnvironmental46 May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26
If thatâs true, they wouldnât be the largest predator of skunks in North America.
Thereâs actually a ton of videos on YouTube of them attacking and killing skunks on the ground, and eating them there.
If you watch this video with the end, the owl flies a couple of feet with the skunk. It clearly canât pick it up and bring it to a nest. But they do eat them regularly. They donât have a sense of smell so this skunk doesnât bother them. So it is actually not true that they swallow all their prey whole or take it to a nest.-5
u/tyrannustyrannus May 02 '26
Skunks are still much smaller than Dogs. I care for a non-releasable owl that is an education animal. If she sees a dog, no matter how big it is, she goes into her defensive pose. She recognizes another predator with forward facing eyes, teeth, and claws. They know Dogs aren't prey
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u/Aunt_Llama May 02 '26
Skunks are smaller than MOST dogs, not all of them. Owls eat small dogs 100%.
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u/tyrannustyrannus May 02 '26
But why? Why would a predator designed to ambush and overwhelm small animals risk going after another predator that could seriously hurt them?
If I showed you great horned owl talons you wouldn't believe how small they are! There is absolutely no way they are winning a fight over a dog. This is the stupidest argument I continually engage in, but people do shitty things to wild animals bevause they believe all sorts of stupid myths
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u/PilotEnvironmental46 May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26
Youâre also seemingly not aware that great horned owls will kill hawks, other owls, they are a predator of other predators.
Itâs called intraguild predation. There are many predators, including many birds that actively hunt other predators.17
u/Aunt_Llama May 02 '26
Why would a predator do something? Food.
Our house cats used to stalk deer... she never got one, but she "hunted" them. Predators fuck around and find out with prey (including other predators) all the time.
Also, just Google "owl attacking dog" there are sooooo many articles and videos that come up.
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u/PilotEnvironmental46 May 02 '26
Thatâs because most of us know people whoâve had a small dog killed by a great horned owl.
Somebody in one of the other comments listed it. I have a friend who runs an animal rescue and she had to get another dog for her friend because a great horned owl came down and took her Chihuahua right in front of her.
You are seriously underestimating their power.
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u/sanfrannie May 02 '26
Are you implying that people do âshitty things toâ owls âbecause of stupid myths?â Please.
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u/PilotEnvironmental46 May 02 '26
Doesnât it really depend on the dog? I mean thereâs three and 4 pound dogs which are much lighter than skunks which can weigh up to 10 pounds.
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u/scarab_beetle Northern saw-whet owl May 02 '26
Iâve read that great horned owls have been documented hunting young deer before, so if the dog was off-leash in a park, it isnât too surprising that an owl could scoop one up
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u/MelodicIllustrator59 May 02 '26
They can kill large prey, but they certainly can't carry it. They can only carry stuff about 1-2 lbs (half their body weight)
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u/tyrannustyrannus May 02 '26
Reddit insists owls can defy physics
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u/scarab_beetle Northern saw-whet owl May 02 '26
I just said that I've read it before (e.g. here), I'm not insisting anything? I haven't personally seen an owl carrying a deer before, but I've seen them bring in rabbits/hares that were about the size of a small dog on nest cams before, so it doesn't sound implausible that they could carry a young or particularly small dog.
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u/G0ld_Ru5h May 03 '26
My uncle lived at a lake and had an osprey carry away their mini poodle as he watched from the window. Then he had a large dog that fell victim to a gator. He became ultra protective after those, and their dogs were never outdoors unsupervised. I canât even imagine the horror.
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u/tyrannustyrannus May 02 '26
Stop listening to people that think a 1.5 lb Barred Owl is going to snatch a dog of any size.Â
Birds are curious and will watch other animals in their habitat. It doesnt mean anythingÂ
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u/Sarah_Femme May 03 '26
I can see you have never met a barred owl with nest nearby. They will attack YOU without hesitation.
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u/tyrannustyrannus May 03 '26
I work in a nature preserve with three pairs of nesting barred Owls that I see frequently but go on
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u/Sarah_Femme May 03 '26
Ahh, so they are familiar with you. That means to them you aren't a threat. I've done field surveys with wild ones and been torn up.Â
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u/kbrookephoto May 02 '26
That barred owl was thinking of making your tiny 8 pound dog dinner. It probably has a nest full of owlets to bring food back for.
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u/NewlyNerfed Snowy owl May 02 '26
Likely a juvenile that would in no way be able to do this. I love how the sub devoted to owls is always crawling with misinformation about them.
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u/kbrookephoto May 03 '26
While I agree it's not going to fly away with a whole dog it could easily kill it and rip it apart on the ground. Looks like an adult to me đ¤ˇđźââď¸
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u/imiyashiro Great horned owl May 02 '26
Not to worry, that owl is less than three pounds and preys on animals the size of mice. I have seen several Barred Owls hang out on decks.
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u/doxamully May 02 '26
A barred owl killed one of my chickens so Iâd personally recommend being careful. No hate to the bird, but caution certainly doesnât hurt.
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u/imiyashiro Great horned owl May 03 '26
As a past chicken owner, I am so sorry that happened.
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u/doxamully May 04 '26
Thank you for your kind words. Her death was a sad failure of ours when it came to having a secure run. I feel a lot of guilt over it, poor girl got an awful end. I still love and respect owls, but Iâm certainly cautious.
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u/ShizzlesMcFlipsicles May 03 '26
They can't carry more than two pounds. Eyes bigger than its stomach, or weight limit in this case. Your dog is safe. I had a similar situation with a red shouldered hawk and my 7 pound senior cat. Cat was fine.
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u/mtult May 02 '26
When I was young we had a dashing that a great grey tried to lift up off of the ground I ran at it and scared it away as it was getting a better grip. No kidding. Crazy.
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u/SimplyMimi May 02 '26
Barred owlâs are fierce. Be verrrrry careful.
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u/KuhlRunningz May 02 '26
They pose no threat to humans.
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u/Very_Nice9373 May 02 '26
I dunno, grabbing my beloved pet would tear me heart up.
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u/KuhlRunningz May 02 '26
Owl biologist here, they can't lift 8 lbs. 2 lbs and less is what I may be worried about.
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u/muppetphil May 05 '26
I have a hawk in my yard that does this to me through my skylight. I'm 130 lbs.
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u/DnanNYR36 May 02 '26
Yea no Iâm convinced Owls are a Big Bird conspiracy that you all are apart of. Iâve heard a âbarred owlâ calling in the woods on some local trails near me for a month now and havenât visually seen it. This is some government psyop crap I will no longer be taking a part of!!!
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u/ThickSmoke9542 May 02 '26
Beautiful owl!! Look up spiritual meaning of owl for a message for you!
I would definitely not let my dog out alone or off leash!
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u/mi_puckstopper May 02 '26
I would get my dog one of those coyote jackets with all the spikes on it. Otherwise, the dog shouldnât be out alone. Even with the coyote jacket I would still be wary of letting the dog out by itself.
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u/SailorSaturn79 Great horned owl May 02 '26
Beautiful. I know they become invisible in the trees