Owl Pellet Dissection - Dearborn High School printable pdf download

Owl Pellet Dissection - Dearborn High School

Name_________________________________________________Date______________

Owl Pellet Dissection

Purpose: Construct a food chain which places the owl at the top.

Find evidence of a predator prey relationship.

Research: An owl pellet is the undigested remains of an owl’s food. An owl swallows

its prey whole. The soft parts of the prey species are digested in the owl’s stomach. The

hard parts such as bones, fur and feathers cannot be digested by the owl. These become

compressed in a special part of the owl’s stomach. The owl expels the pellet out of its

mouth. Common Barn Owls usually produce one or two pellets per day.

Hypothesis: What do you think you will learn from dissecting your owl pellet?

________________________________________________________________________

Procedure:

1.) Unwrap your owl pellet and place it on the paper plate. Draw what it looks like and

record the length and width below.

2.) Begin dissecting the pellet by carefully breaking off pieces. (Try not to break the

bones.) Break the pellet into small pieces while sorting out the fur from the bones.

3.) Use the sorting sheet you were given to sort out the bones. Keep the fur to the side

on the plate. Remove even the tiny bones you will need them!

4.) Once all of the bones are removed and sorted throw away the fur. Don’t throw away

bones.

5.) Get a skeleton worksheet, glue, and construction paper from the materials table.

6.) Write your group members’ names on the construction paper. Place the bones on the

construction paper in the proper place. Use the skeleton sheet to help your group get the

bones in order. After you are sure you have constructed the skeleton properly glue the

bones in place. (Hint: the glue dries clear.)

7.) Clean up your materials and set the skeletons aside to dry.

Owl Pellet Dissection - Dearborn High School