Eurasian Eagle Owl
General information
Arguably, this is one of the world’s largest owls with a wingspan of 5 - 6 ft and the female weighing up to 4.2kg. Its size, ear-tufts and bright orange eyes make it an easily identifiable bird.
The Eurasian Eagle Owl is an incredibly skilled and powerful predator. Pairing their silent flight with their large powerful talons, they can take down prey as large as foxes or fawns and have no known natural predators.
It now lives and breeds successfully in the UK after becoming extinct for several centuries. The World Owl Trust has recently changed its status on this owl regarding it as a British species due to fossil evidence proving it was once a native species.
At the moment this is controversial, because Eurasian Eagle Owls do not like to share hunting grounds, so it may become a threat to some of our smaller birds of prey.
Latin name - Bubo bubo
Class - Aves
Order - Strigiformes
Family - Strigidae
IUCN Status - Least concern
Habitat - Rocky, mountainous areas, grasslands, steppes
Distribution - Europe and Asia
Average Lifespan
40 years
Threats
Eating poisoned prey, habitat loss, collisions with cars and wires.
Fun Fact
In a classic British compromise the Eurasian Eagle Owl officially remains an alien species but as a resident wild bird is protected from being killed.
Keeper Notes
Our pair of Eurasian Eagle Owls can be found in the deer encounter. Our female Jasper, joined us in 2022 after retiring as a falconry flight bird. Originally thought to be a male, hence her name, but our keepers have affectionately nicknamed her Jas. Jas joined Brock, our male who joined us after being kept as a pet! Being a large impressive species of owl seems to make them a popular choice. Owls, however, are specialist birds and most certainly do not make good pets!
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