Lawrie Conole wrote:
>
> Laurie Living wrote:
>
> > Now while this might seem like 'meals on wheels' brought right to
> the
> > door, it seems that brushies are not as much of a treat as gliders
> or
> > ring-tailed possums and I have seldom seen them in the clutches of
> > daily roosting Powerful Owls. And perhaps the owl had just been
> > satisfied with some better food [and sex] from the male. Any
> comment?
>
> Hi Laurie
>
> In the Brisbane Ranges west of Melbourne, Powerful Owls have been seen
> to grab the odd young Koala ("young on back" sized morsel). So I
> think
> brushies are well within the target culinary range, but no doubt
> something of a handful if not taken by surprise. The other matter is
> that brushies are known nestling/egg predators, so the owl may have
> been
> seeing off what it saw as a potential threat to its young - as opposed
> to lunch turned down!
>
> Lawrie
>
> --
> =================================
> Lawrie Conole
> Senior Ecologist
> Ornithology & Terrestrial Ecology
>
> Ecology Australia Pty. Ltd.
> Flora and Fauna Consultants
> 88B Station Street
> FAIRFIELD VIC 3078 Australia
> E-mail:
> Internet: http://www.ecologyaustralia.com.au/
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>
Thanks Lawrie
John Gould's Powerful Owl print shows it grasping a young Koala, though
he admitted that he hadn't actually seen it with Koala prey. He thought
it was perfectly likely given habitat etc. I'm interested to see that he
was quite right.
Anthea Fleming
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